Old Scars, Future Hearts
by carved in the sand
Summary: Katara thinks she could find gold in their darkest of moments. - Kataang/Republic City!AU
1. the water tribe girl

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Aang watched her peel the mango with her teeth unsuccessfully.

The Water Tribe girl - with her big blue fluffy coat laid out beside her, cocoa powder skin, hair loopies that fell into her eyes, and starry blue eyes that reflected arctic waters - sat on top of the several blankets he'd brought for her as she stared at the sea. The bandages wrapped inelegantly around her forehead looked bone white against her dark skin. The sadness that had enveloped her entire presence was close to suffocating, until she'd started peeling away at that mango.

The pure fascination and awed wonder on her face was priceless. It was hard to keep down his smile for several minutes.

"What should I do?" Aang whispered to Appa, crouching down next to the sky bison that dug away at the sand in boredom. She didn't have the smile problem now - now she just looked terribly pensive. He would have suggested meditating if he was sure it wouldn't get him smacked. "Do you think she ran away from home?"

The sky bison paused, gave Aang a look, then the Water Tribe Girl, and then went back to digging at the sand. Aang nodded, standing from his crouch as he squinted at her.

"You're right," the young monk murmured. "I mean, she looks around my age. Maybe a little older?"

"You two can stop talking about me now."

Aang went stock still, slightly afraid as Water Tribe Girl looked over her shoulder at them. She smiled kindly, then winced, reaching to press a hand to the bandages wrapped around her forehead, but seemingly thought better of it. The Girl waved Aang over instead before patting the space beside her on the blankets. He swallowed thickly at the motion.

Appa nudged him, pressing his wet nose against Aang's lower back. Aang got the message - just go already.

"I don't meant to intrude, really," Water Tribe Girl said, giving a tinier smile, as though she were trying to keep her face as still as possible but couldn't help herself. She turned around to continue investigating her mango. Aang gave a tiny smile himself. "I know younger monks aren't really used to being around girls, but I swear we don't bite."

Aang gaped. Was she messing with him? "I-I-it's not's not- I can't- you _aren't_ -!"

Water Tribe Girl interrupted him, waving the mango above her head. "Do you want to share? This thing is too big to finish alone."

Aang gaped, then glared at Appa who grumbled amusedly in return.

This was so not funny.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to girls - the girl monks at the Eastern Air Temple were really great. They always made him flower crowns whenever he went for training with various different airbending Masters, and _maybe_ he was jealous that they got to keep their hair after they got their tattoos. Her being a girl wasn't the problem. Even if she was a ridiculously pretty one.

He just wasn't used to Water Tribe girls who wore clothes made out of dead things. He wasn't used to really _anyone_ of any gender stumbling onto and passing out ashore with their a face covered in blood.

Watching her coming out of the water like that from above Appa, a small head of dark hair popping above the surface as it dragged the rest of her through, had given him the fright of his life. The blood pooled around her dramatically, pooling on her face before staining the rest of her upper body. It was as if a corpse was being brought to life before him, awakened harshly from its eternal slumber.

Aang tried focusing on the present as he made his way over to the blankets set up in front of the sea. He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with her being near her bending element, but the water always had a calming effect. She hadn't wanted to stray too far from it, even when he'd all but begged her to climb up on Appa to go the temple for medical supplies. She'd been moaning in pain almost immediately, begging him to put her back into the water after she'd gained consciousness again.

He was startled. Why would he save someone from potentially drowning, only to let them potentially drown _again_?

But he'd relented, managing to shift her from towering from his side to laying limply in his arms. She'd been heavy, almost too much for him to carry, but he'd managed to stumble her over just to where the tide lapped against the sand teasingly. Her head lolled back and the water had reached farther to her. As if the liquid had a mind of its' own - " _Waterbender, huh?"_ he'd thought to himself - it was reaching over the split skin across her forehead and staunching the bleeding almost immediately.

He knew waterbenders had healing abilities, so he waited a bit longer, biting his lip as the skin on her forehead mostly cleared away with blood. He wasn't sure if the gaping, split flesh was any better of a view.

Aang didn't think he'd ever seen gore like that before, and it startled him. He was worried she was going to die.

He'd called over Appa to watch her as he'd brought her to him and jet off towards the temple on his glider. Naked fear pushed him into a whirlwind of action as he swept past his fellow monks in training, raided the medical room gracelessly, and wrapped everything he thought he would need into a large pile of blankets before he was off again.

After managing to get back to Appa, who had taken to nuzzling the unconscious girl with a low whine of concern, he'd slapped a disinfectant, some sealing gel and the bandages onto her wound. For the first time he was lucky that he'd spent a fair amount of his early childhood years injuring himself as he tried advanced air bending techniques that usually launched him into the air and bringing himself down quite painfully. His work wasn't nearly as neat as the medic-trained monks, but it was good enough.

At least she wasn't bleeding anymore.

And now, they sat side by side on the blankets as the tide licked its way up the sand towards them. Aang bit down on his lip as he stared out at the limitless sea; his mind relayed information as he wondered where she could be going. To the south was Southern Water Tribe lands (presumably where she'd come from). To the east was Kyoshi Island. To the west was a smattering of coastal Fire Nation islands.

Where was she trying to go? An exclusively male air temple, or even the surrounding mountain ranges, were obviously not her destination.

"There was a storm. My boat capsized pretty quick, so I started swimming until it let up last night. I don't know how long I'd been swimming," Water Tribe Girl said, pulling out a small knife from her pocket. She began slicing into the mango with a strained look. "And I don't know how long I'd been hurt. But once I saw the shore I just...blacked out, I think."

"Well, I'm glad you made it through safe enough," Aang offered helpfully. He took the proffered slice of mango from her with a smile. "You're from the Southern Water Tribe, right? It's hurricane season right now. The older kids always tell us not to go travelling there around this time of year."

Water Tribe Girl bit down on her own slice of mango almost angrily. "No one told _me_ that."

Aang frowned. "No one could tell if you if you ran away without notice."

She turned and blinked at him, her face a strained mask of hidden emotions. "How did you- well...I told my older brother. He said he was worried, but that I'd be better off finding a master than being stuck at home," Water Tribe Girl said. She sighed with a sad smile stretching across her face. "All my seal jerky's washed up now. He'd be so mad if he was with me."

"He likes meat, huh?"

"Too much. Kind of obsessively."

He laughed, and she gave her own little giggle. They were quiet again as Aang was handed another slice of mango. They ate in an easy silence. He sucked at the skin, bottom teeth scraping against the yellow sweetness that still clung stubbornly, and watched her shrug off her coat. Aang had managed to dry most of it after he'd bandaged it up. It seemed a little useless now, with how warm it already was right now. It would be warmer still the farther north she went.

"What's your name?" Aang asked. He felt it would be easier to get her to open up if he knew her name. Plus, he was kind of annoying himself with addressing her as Water Tribe Girl in his head.

Water Tribe Girl stiffened, looking worried and somewhat scared. It didn't make sense to him. Was she scared of him intruding too much, or just answering the question? Why would she be scared of him? Regardless, it had him back tracking instantly.

"You don't have to say if you don't feel comfortable," Aang said. He gave her an encouraging smile, which seemed to help. "But, I won't give you my name either. Just to be fair."

Water Tribe Girl managed a small smile back. "Just to be fair."

He nodded, went back to sucking on the mango skin, and tried again. "Can you tell me where you're headed?"

"The Northern Water Tribe," she answered. His eyes widened - was she travelling on boat that far, by herself? During hurricane season? Admittedly, he was quite careless himself when he traveled. He'd flown into many a storm on Appa before on his visits around the world. But the fact that she'd swam through it impressed him immensely. "I need to...find a certain man and ask him to become my teacher."

Aang frowned. "They only teach boys there, you know. You couldn't find any teachers from home?"

Water Tribe Girl scowled and shook her head.

"They don't teach girls at the Southern Water Tribe either, you know," she said, mimicking him.

His frown turned into a full on scowl.

She handed him another mango slice.

Unnoticed to herself, she was gripping her small hunting knife - or maybe fruit knife? - until her knuckles turned several shades paler than her own skin. "My grandmother died a few weeks ago. She told me to go north and find Pa- find a certain man and ask him if he could teach me. Some chauvinistic _idiot_ who doesn't believe that it's _proper_ for girls to know how to fight," she spat, enraged beyond belief. She pointed to a short choker at her neck. "The necklace is supposed to instantly convince him."

It was kind of scary, seeing such a nice girl get so bitterly angry, but he shared the sentiment at least. He knew that the Air Nomads were incredibly unique in their views on things like gender, or marriage, or the sacredness of life that either greatly differed or outright contradicted the rest of the world. But the rest of the world didn't always make sense either.

What did gender have _anything_ to do with a spirit-given gift like bending?

Aang knew more than a few girls who could beat him up. Lots of them didn't even need air bending to do it. Maybe this man Water Tribe Girl had to find - presumably a waterbending Master - needed to find a few himself. Aang sincerely hoped that she could fill that roll for him one day. He'd definitely cheer her on.

"You don't feel like going to ask, do you?" Aang guessed.

"I'll probably...have to grovel, to make him go against a tradition that old," she said. A distinct bitterness that he did not like found its way into her voice. "Travelling to the other side of the world means I'll probably end up loosing something along the way. I just- I don't want it to be my dignity, you know?"

Aang nodded in understanding, taking the mango and knife from her as she let them both flop into her lap for a good minute. He wouldn't fault her for being having self respect, and no decent person should. Water Tribe Girl watched him with bright blue, unnervingly expressive eyes. He began cutting up the mango properly, laying out the slices on the blankets as he spoke.

"If he forces you to grovel, then you'll just have to should force him out of any other options. Most people couldn't surivive a storm that capsized their boat by swimming through it." At this point, he gave her a look, and then the mango slices. Water Tribe Girl immediately took one and mumbled a soft _thank you_. "Your grandmother wouldn't ask you to do something this hard if she didn't think that it would be worth the results. You should go, and then make him regret ever thinking that a girl couldn't be an awesome bender."

Water Tribe Girl sighed. "You're right," she said. "I just...I _want_ to learn. So badly. I've wanted to for so long. I couldn't be able to handle it if he told me no. Going all that way for nothing."

"Then don't give him an option to say no," Aang replied, a surprising lance of anger and stubbornness making its way into his voice. "It's a stupid tradition anyway! Show him how stupid it is."

Water Tribe Girl looked at him for what felt like a long time, until his anger fled from him and he felt embarassed for getting worked up so easily. Not that it wasn't worth getting worked up for but - he just hated getting angry. It made him feeling emotionally and even spiritually drained. But she stared, sucked on a mango skin, a very thoughtful look on her face.

Aang made it to the large, slippery mango seed at the middle, which he promptly fed to Appa. The sky bison enjoyed cracking into the large mango seeds more than he liked the flavor of the outside flesh.

"You're _right_. You're right!" Water Tribe Girl said, tossing down the mango skin and standing. There was a light shining in her eyes. Lots of hand gestures ensued, which he enjoyed more than he probably should have. "I'm not going to let him tell me I don't have potential just because I'm a girl! And I'm not going to grovel! Or beg! I _refuse_! I don't care what Gran Gran says!"

Aang stood too, crossing his arms and smiling happily. "That's the spirit."

Water Tribe Girl grinned at him, giving herself a little fist pump. It made him smile at her adoreableness, and she smiled back. "My Gran Gran would have liked you. You're really wise for your age," she said.

"I'm not _that_ young. I just turned twelve," he replied. Aang wasn't fond of the insinuation that he was a kid to her. "How old are you?"

She smiled. "I'll be fifteen in just a few months."

It almost rankled him that she was close to three years older than him, but he bat away at the childish thoughts. It wasn't often than he thought of himself as a child these days, what with the very intimidating Avatar discussions the monks had amongst each other, and how quickly he was rising to airbending Master status. But now, he sort of did feel like one. Especially with her being taller than him.

Well, not by that much, but still. _Still_.

Water Tribe Girl gave another sad smile, and yet against she pressed her hands to the necklace that hung at her throat. It was tied like a choker, with a small circle of a strange white stone hanging from it. The stone was carved intricately with waves and a shoreline. It looked like it had taken a long time to be made. He'd seen many different variations of them on Water Tribe women in the North Pole when he visited.

With a deep, determined breath, she took it off.

"I'm supposed to show that man this necklace. He gave it to my grandmother when they were young, and she kept it ever since," she explained as it laid in her hand. She reached forward and tied it around his neck, just under the collar of his shirt. Aang frowned, touching the worn leather and carved stone necklace himself as she pulled away. "I don't want to show it to him. I don't want him to know that I'm her grand daughter. I want him to teach me because...because it would be a _waste_ not to."

"I shouldn't take this. It's probably important to you," Aang said.

"The most important thing in the _world_ ," she said bluntly. This was where she pursed her lips. "It's the betrothal necklace he gave to my grandmother. She ran away with it. She gave it to my dad to give to my mom for their engagement, and my mom gave it to me. It's the last piece of her that I have of her. Of the _both_ of them. What if he asks to keep it? I couldn't handle that."

"Couldn't you say no?" Aang said.

"I'm...I'm sort of bad at saying no sometimes," Water Tribe Girl muttered. Which worried him. She was about to go out travelling on her own, after all. He wanted her to be able to say no when she needed to.

"Won't mother your mother miss it?"

There was another sad smile here. "She's gone now."

He shook his head. "Then I _definitely_ can't take this."

Water Tribe Girl held out the hand that reached to unclasp it behind his neck. There was a bright determination in her eyes and it mesmerized him like nothing in the world ever had. "One day we'll meet again and you can give it back. When we're both bending Masters. I...I _know_ I can trust you. I know you'll keep it safe," she said. The smile she gave him was earnest. "Besides, so many people have owned it since that man made it. You're a neutral party."

"I don't know," Aang said, sincerely conflicted. It was a huge world, and she didn't have a sky bison to fly around in. What if he never saw her again? What if he never got to return the necklace to her? Something this precious shouldn't stay with him just to prove a point, even if he did understand.

"Just this one last favor. _Please_."

He sighed and acquiesced silently. It earned him another blinding smile.

"I haven't done you any favors. I hardly think keeping something around my neck counts as a favor," Aang told her. She didn't owe him anything.

Water Tribe girl smirked, shrugging a bit as she touched her bandaged forehead. "Only a monk would think saving someone's life wouldn't count as a favor," she said. Aang couldn't say she was wrong.

She surprised him when she stepped away and bowed low. In fact, it made him gape embarassingly.

"Thank you for saving me. Thank you for the advice. Thank you...thank you for reminding me why I need to do this," Water Tribe Girl said, voice full of reverence. She rose, still smiling. "Thank you for giving me hope again."

Water Tribe Girl stepped forward, leaned down, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Aang gaped even _more_ incredulously as he watched her pull away, wave excitedly to Appa (who had decided to settle down for an afternoon beach nap) and then walked right into the sea. It took him a minute to understand that she was going to swim, and it took all of his strength not to try and drag her back to shore. He watched the water climb up to her knees, her waist, and then finally her shoulders as she began to swim. Aang truly couldn't help it went it started screaming out instructions.

"Head north east to Kyoshi Island!" he shouted, watching as she paused to look back at him. His heart was slamming inside of his chest like it never had before. "Follow the Yu Lin star when night falls! The third brightest in the sky! Sneak onto one of the cargo ships heading to the North Pole! The ones that smell like herbal tea! They head straight to the North Pole!"

Echoing and far away, she answered. "I will! Thank you!"

Aang swallowed thickly as he watched her head sink under the water.

"Goodluck," he said aloud to himself. Then he looked down at the coat she'd left behind in her haste. Aang frowned. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

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 **A/N:** _The prologue of my sort of Republic City!AU for the Gaang!_

 _The only reason I started writing this is because I was binging on Zutara fics and got angry and had lots of feels. I love Zutara a lot, but oh my god, I'm tired of reading about how immature and selfish and attention seeking and annoying Aang is. I'm tired of reading about how wrong he is for Katara. Because no. Not even. Hush._

 _One thing that's a tenant to their relationship in the series is Katara's faith in Aang - you listen to her talk about it before each episode after all. She knows he'll save the world. But I think that she connects deeply with him, past his status as Avatar, because she believes in him. The goodness of his heart, the need to always help others, his Air Nomad values/beliefs, all of that, she believes in him, and she knows it all culminates in this boy that's gonna save the world. Because he already ran away once and he couldn't bear to do it again. And I love that about her. About_ them _._

 _Expect some shennanigans, Kataang goodness, Toph keeping the streets safe as a cop fresh out of the academy, Sokka exercising everyone's nerves, shennanigans, a young King (prince?) Bumi, Zuko being the awkward tea obsessed baby turtle duck that he was born to be, amongst other things in a series of random one shots that hopefully won't be too long, since I'm leaving the country soon. Wish me luck._

 _I hope you enjoyed! Remember to review!_


	2. a reunion (or run-in)

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Toph came home that afternoon with a slam of the front door and a loud groan.

It was about five in the evening - four hours earlier than when Toph usually made it home - and Katara was engrossed in the weekly paper as she searched for anything new pertaining to any gang activity near their area. Their neighbors a few doors down had been robbed last week and she, as Toph liked to say, was always _more worrier than warrior_. (Quite honestly it sounded much more affectionate coming from her than it probably would have from anyone else.)

Katara, who had been sitting on the floor in front of the sofa and reading the newspaper, smiled broadly.

"Got here yesterday, apparently."

"What?" Toph snapped, unbelting and slipping off her uniform coat. "How did you know that?"

"He's on the front page of the papers today." Katara flipped the news paper back to the front page that showed the picture of the young, eccentric Earth Kingdom prince with his usual insane smile. The rest of him, however, looked quite different. He certainly looked twenty now. "' _Bumi Makes a Big Scene in the City for Upcoming Diplomacy Discussions'_. He's been acting up the minute he stepped into the city limits, apparently."

"Typical," Toph hissed, working on her bottomless boots next.

"And he was probably looking for _you_ the whole time," Katara drawled, looking down at the newspaper once again. "He was seen all over yesterday."

"Well, he found me this morning," Toph snapped angrily. "You won't _believe_ this."

"If it's about Bumi and it sounds ridiculous enough, I just might."

As the earthbender police officer dismantled the rest of uniform – really, Toph was made of much tougher things than her if she was able to wear such heavy padding on the daily without a single complaint – she told Katara of how she'd been called back to Headquarters from patrol to find Bumi schmoozing with the Chief of Police.

Then he'd found her, embarrassed the hell out of her (which Katara had unfortunately gotten no details on, but did not miss the way Toph's face went red at the admission) before convincing her superiors to let her take the day off so that she could _personally_ guard him for the rest of his stay her - in front of the _actual_ two guards that he'd brought along from Omashu. Toph was now officially stuck with him until he decided to leave.

All in all it seemed more tame than what Katara was expecting, but she had an inkling Toph was editing out a lot of their shenanigans just so she wouldn't hear a lecture for it.

"Can you believe it? I didn't spend six months at the academy just to become a damn lacky for some political bullshit. As if gang activity isn't going to spike with all this going on. I'm _needed_ ," Toph snapped, undoing the hair at the top of her head. She'd flung her headband to the side several minutes ago had been struggling to search for the pin that held up her hair for at least two minutes. "What the hell's in here?"

Katara reached over, looking through Toph's hair until she spotted the single brown pin that had made a nuisance of itself. Katara plucked it out and placed it onto the nearby coffee table. Toph muttered her thanks as her hair tumbled down her back. It was thick and full and waist-length and surprisingly healthy. Shinier and tamer than Katara's own wild curls, too. The waterbender wished not for the first time that Toph would wear her hair down like this more often, impractical as it was.

"If you're supposed to chaperon-?"

"- _babysit_ , Sugar Queen."

"-well, yes, _look after_ Bumi, then I'm guessing you don't want to be at the welcoming party today."

"Yeah," Toph muttered. "Like I care about the stupid Avatar and his stupid habit of popping up out of nowhere."

Katara shrugged, looking further down the front page as she saw a little blurry picture of said Avatar, shaking hands with what looked to be the mayor, surrounded by several others. Next to the picture, the title said, _Republic City Welcomes the Avatar Aang._ "Well it certainly is a habit," Katara said, giving a shrug. "He was apparently just in the Fire Nation a few days ago."

"It's freaking weird how he's learned all the elements so quickly," Toph said, a speculative tone in her voice. "And suspicious."

"Very." Usually, the Avatar took a full decade in mastering all the elements. But the Avatar of their generation - a male nomad from the Southern Air Temple - was announced to the world at twelve. He'd spent only _three_ years mastering the other elements and was already being acknowledged by the world as a fully realized Avatar. Any competent bender knew that it took several years to completely master an element, and the Avatar was supposed to be a certifiable Master of them all. It was strange.

In all honesty, it made Katara feel like he would be needing to act very soon. What other reason would there be? She could think of none. There was talk of civil unrest in the Fire Nation, and even rumors of an impending civil war. The young, just-a-few-weeks-into-his-coronation Firelord apparently had his hands full.

"Why couldn't he stay in the stupid Fire Nation?" Toph huffed.

"It wouldn't keep Bumi in Omashu," Katara said easily, giving her younger friend the eye. "That entire ridiculous bet is your own fault."

Toph scoffed aloud, smirking haughtily. "As if I'm scared of losing that bet. In fact, the sooner we show down, the sooner me and you get filthy rich," she said. Katara blinked at how sure she sounded. "I'm not afraid of him."

"Then why are you annoyed?"

"There's going to be a ton of world leaders popping in and out of here this month peace talks or whatever. That means I'm going to be pulling even more patrol shifts to keep this place under control, _plus_ babysitting Fruitloops. He never mentioned when the hell he was leaving anyways," the earthbender growled. She took several moments to roll her left shoulder backwards in circular motions with deep breaths. "I hope someone tries assassinating him."

Katara gaped at her in horror before rolling up the newspaper and smacking her upside the head. Top _oof_ 'ed and scowled in her general direction.

"Don't say things like that!" Katara said.

"It's just a joke!"

"A bad one!"

Toph snapped a _fine_ and crossed her arms before leaning against the couch fully, irate and listless (which was much better than how pissed she'd been since she walked in). "I should go challenge that ass right now and then collect," she mumbled. There was a sudden dreamy look on her face. "Then we'll buy a house on Ember island and lay on the beach all day while you surf."

Katara immediately stiffened, verbally dismissing the idea. "You like being a police officer here too much to just pack up and leave again. And the same goes to me for the hospital," Katara admonished. It wasn't the perfect job but - well. It was enough. "There's no point in that bet right now."

Toph's eyes went wide. "And why not? When is there ever _not_ a point in getting rich?"

"What would would we even do with the entirety of Omashu's royal reserves in the first place?"

"I'm the creative one here, Sugar Queen. You just leave that to me."

Katara grumbled, moving to whack Toph again with the newspaper, but within a second she was crouched on top of the couch and reaching to snatch it away. A small struggled ensued before Katara let go of the newspaper. Toph toppled over back on to the floor from the lack of balance.

"Anyway," Toph snapped, tossing the newspaper behind her as she sat up from her face-smooshed-against-the-living-room-floor position. "Bumi told me something...about the people coming to the party tonight."

Katara frowned. "What about?"

Toph shrugged carelessly, but her tone was anything but. "A representative from the Southern Water Tribe is gonna be there."

There was a heavy, poisonous silence that enveloped them. It took her ten heartbeats to realize she'd stopped breathing all together. It took her another five to get her lungs to work properly again. With an uncomfortable cough,

Katara stood abruptly. She cleared her throat rather nervously. "The Chief?" she asked.

"He didn't say," Toph said. Her milky, unseeing green eyes roved anywhere but towards her. She stood as well, stretching out her shoulder blades as she made her way towards her room. "But the guy's supposed to be there tonight. So I think it would be worth checking out."

Katara swallowed and nodded, feeling the blood draining from her body. Her sense of gravity shifted as she felt ridiculously lightheaded and numb. Weak.

"I'll be ready in an hour." Katara answered. It made Toph pause.

"You...you know you don't have to, right?" Toph stood with her hip against the entry way and her hand grasping the door knob. She faced the darkness of her room. "You don't have to go. You're a legal adult here. You aren't... _obligated_ to be a daughter anymore, Sugar Queen. You have to do what's best for you."

Katara smiled sadly, feeling her throat tighten. "I know," she said. "But this...I think seeing him will be what's best for me."

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Prince Bumi was an old friend – well, moreso of a bitter rival on Toph's part.

It took a full two years for Katara to find the whole thing a genuinely entertaining story to tell, and even longer for her to realize how ridiculously _cute_ it was. But she didn't get to tell it often. It happen to involve them being followed by bounty hunters and skipping town.

When they'd first came to Omashu years before in search of jobs and a temporary place to hide out anonymously. Katara had been waitressing at a nearby restaurant and Toph had been getting into street fights to the match's reward money (without Katara's knowledge, of course). Bumi had been posing as a simple civilian to get into the street fight for the fun of it and, after giving her a damn good run for her money, had _let her win_.

Which made sense in Katara's head, quite honestly.

What would come of him winning the money, being the prince of such an affluent city? She wasn't sure if Toph would be more offended by him giving her the money afterwards or letting her have the victory. There was no way in hell the former option would have gone well.

Still, Toph was enraged. _It's like a spit to the face_ , she had hissed that night after coming home, explaining weird Earth Kingdom honor codes. _Letting your opponent win a match. It's not even a win. It's disrespectful._

 _When have you ever respected anyone in your entire life?_ I'd tossed back, hands on my hip and all. She certainly hadn't respected Katara with how much she'd been knocked around physically and verbally. It was like having a rowdy younger sister that could knock you flat on your rear within moments. And Katara had used to be that little sister towards Sokka, but Toph was ten times better being surrounded by her element like they always were.

 _Hey, now! I've never disrespected your honor as a warrior! And that kid – that loopy headed_ weirdo _– just handed me a win! For what? Just because I'm-?!_ and she'd paused in fury, shrieking to herself and stomping her foot hard enough to make the entire apartment building shake.

Katara had desperately wanted to know what she'd about to say. Because of what? Because she was blind?

In nearly all situations, Toph's disability had been irrelevant to her prowess as a fighter. Reluctantly, after calming down, the young earth bender said sheepishly that she'd demanded a rematch several times with many threats of squished organs, and the kid acquiesced in exchange for her name. And…Toph had _given_ it.

Her full name.

 _In a really loud voice_ , Toph confessed through a mumble.

Which wasn't smart for a person who was on the run from bounty hunters and had a knack for being uncomfortably memorable to anyone they'd even pass by, let alone interact with, but Toph had so much blood rushing in her head that she hadn't been able to think clearly. The kid – who'd introduced himself as Bumi – was a dusty looking street brat with wild eyes and even wilder hair. The only thing intimidating about him was his questionable sanity.

He'd said that he would find her and then they'd be able to go at it for real next time.

 _Any time, any place, any rules_ , Toph had demanded back. _And if you try that shit again, I'll make sure you_ regret _it._

In Katara's head, Bumi had probably given her a ridiculously lovesick expression then because he had a thing for Toph expressing herself indignantly.

A week later, in the middle of doing laundry and listening to the radio on a lazy Sunday morning, two guards had stormed into their tiny little apartment saying that Prince Bumi of Omashu had demanded her presence for a spar.

There had been a fuss, and an epic earthbender showdown, and lots of flying debris that Katara had to dive in the way out of, and a fourteen year old prince professing his undying devotion to a horrified Toph right after they'd almost brought down the whole building, and a brief stay at his palace that Katara had accepted for both of them. The whole affair had the entire city gossiping about a possible engagement between Prince Bumi and the infamous earthbending Toph Beifong, which seemed to stretch far past the cities (as did Toph's name - as the Blind Bandit or not). The bounty hunters looking for her had entered the city, which meant that they had to quickly exit the city by any means necessary.

That's when they'd gotten Republic City in their heads.

 _In the past few decades, it's become the most densely populated city in the world. It would be impossible to find you there if you kept your heads down well enough_ , Bumi had said as his guards handed Katara a large satchel filled with Omashu gold coins. Toph was handed the one with paper yuans. He was munching on glowing rock candy as he spoke, looking quite dashing and princely. _Although I don't know why you can't just go to Ba Sing Se again. It's twice as close. You wouldn't have to go back through customs if you took Serpent's pass. It wouldn't be difficult with a waterbender._

Toph shook her head as she irately snatched the satchel filled with food from a different guard. _Been there, done that, already had wanted signs posted all over for the_ both _of us,_ – at this, she'd smirk somewhat in Katara's direction before it earned her a pinch - _and already too risky to go back too. We'll just have to stick to Republic City._

Bumi frowned, crossing his arms in an almost petulant manner. Katara pressing her lips together to keep from smiling. _I don't know why you two don't actually ride an ostrich horse_ , he reasoned.

Toph shook her head. _I like my feet on the ground, buddy._

Katara nodded in agreement. _The guys after us are driving. Toph can sense them coming from miles away if they end up sneaking up on us somehow,_ she'd said.

It was a weak excuse, in her opinion, but she knew for a fact that her friend was truly blind when she didn't have a connection with the earth, so for her peace of mind they traveled almost exclusively on foot. It had been immensely useful, having 'eyes' for miles, but still draining. They used a single ostrich horse between them to carry the bulk of their things as they walked.

He shrugged. _I'll just have to trust you then. I wish the both of you good luck. Remember that you'll always have a friend and a hideaway here,_ Bumi told them, eyes shimmering with warmth. _But I must request something._

 _What is it?_

 _Another rematch. And a bet._

 _You're on. What are you trying to bet, Mad Man?_

 _If you win, I'll hand over half the gold in the royal treasury_. Toph's eyes went wide as she smirked wildly. _If I win, you have to become my queen._

Toph's eyes went wider, but her smile left her face – which went extraordinarily red at that moment. Katara gaped in shock, as did all the guards in the room. She was about to launch into a very angry lecture about how Bumi was too young to even be considering marrying anyone, and how plainly ridiculous those stakes were, but Toph had spoken before she had.

 _You're_ on. _I'm going to wipe the floor with you and buy Ba Sing Se from the Earth King!_ It hadn't been an exaggeration, in all honesty. Omashu wasn't a big city, but it was a ridiculously rich one from the trade of precious metals with many different parts of the world. If they had documents an Earth Kingdom city other than Ba Sing Se, they probably wouldn't have been able to get in.

Toph's face was still red.

Katara was sure she'd lost all the color from her face. And possibly body. Maybe all the blood had left her veins for several moments.

 _I've never met an earth bender with your level of ingenuity and sheer skill, you know. It's been a long time since I've settled a fight in a draw._ His voice was serious again. His guards bowed deeply before them, and the prince followed their lead.

Toph scowled, face still red, before returning the bow. Katara gaped.

 _What was going on?_ Katara said aloud. _Really? Seriously?_

Toph had come up first, and Katara followed, staring at her in plain shock. The dark haired girl grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the room.

 _Until we meet again, Toph Beifong_ , Bumi said, his usual lighthearted, whimsical voice following them in an echo through the door. _Don't keep me waitingg._

 _Likewise, Fruitloops!_ Toph had shouted back. And then, _Sugar Queen, if your mouth keeps hanging open like that, you'll swallow a mothfly whole._

The whole thing had been a mess, and particularly distressing to have to leave what could have been a permanent home in Omashu – it had been a good city. The work wasn't grueling, and neither was the sun at high noon. The food was fresh, the people were kind, and the days went by smoothly. But Katara had hope, her wits, and a supremely talented earthbending master on her side.

The odds were in her favor.

.

.

.

"I'm gonna fucking _kill him_."

Katara rolled her eyes, thankful that it went unseen.

Later that night, the two of them stood side by side as they watched (and Toph felt) Bumi arm wrestled with Councilman Jian Jian, shouting ridiculous encouragements as the middle aged man turned red in the face. Katara did not miss the boisterous laughter of the Earth King from beside Bumi. It seemed as though he was asking the young prince techniques.

It had been several years since they'd even gotten a glimpse of Bumi, and a lot had changed. He was much taller and surprisingly muscular. His dark brown hair which had the awful tendency to stick up in any given direction was slicked back neatly in a very Republic City style. The rest of him was stuffed into soft mint formal wear, trimmed with intricately embroidered gold thread that looked more expensive than their entire apartment.

The nineteen year old looked like a handsome young man, a leader. Katara mused that this entire ordeal would have become much more interesting if Toph could see how much the prince had changed.

 _Not that he isn't checking her out every ten minutes_ , Katara thought with amusement, hiding her smile behind her fan. _The police uniform really_ is _cute on her._

Still, one half of Katara was incredibly concerned for Councilman Jian Jian, but the other half was too scared to get talked into her own arm wrestling match by going over there.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Katara murmured.

"Hell no. No one's broken anything yet," Toph whispered back. "Jian Jian walked right into this mess, so he can give his complaints to the boss and not his helpless underlings. The Chief can kiss my ass."

A waiter carrying a tray of alcoholic beverages passed by them, and Toph nicked a flute of something that looked quite strong. Said waiter looked quite scandalized as an in-uniform officer try to down the drink in one go, but Katara snatched it away from her before slipping it back onto the waiter's tray. She called out an apology as he scurried away.

"Haven't we already been through this?" Toph said, slipping off her gloves and shoving them into her pockets. "If I'm old enough to be a cop, then I should be old enough to drink."

Katara looped her arm through her's and dragged her towards Bumi, trying not to seem too conspicuous. "Forget the drinking age! You are on duty and you are not about to get yourself fired after half a year of academy grunt work and coming home covered in mud," she said brightly, a fake smile plastered on her face. Toph's face was obstinate, ruining the illusion. "Be responsible."

 _Tonight's going to be a mess_ , Katara thought secretly to herself, watching Bumi jump up to his feet happily to greet them. She knew it from the second she'd hung up _that_ dress back in her closet.

Katara had been sifting through her closet in her underwear back at her apartment, doors closed, rummaging through a box of dresses that she'd collected over the years. Many she had outgrown and kept for nostalgia's sake. Two in particular had caught her eye and she'd let them fall in her lap. The first was a pastel pink cheongasm with a high neck, long sleeves, and a longer train. The second other was a soft beige Earth Kingdom robe courtesy of Ba Sing Se with full sleeves, chocolate brown trimming, and gold inlaid against them. Admittedly the pink was her favorite. It had been a gift from her friend Yue the day of her engagement.

It wasn't a Water Tribe dress in the _slightest_. A dress that soft, thin, was meant to be worn on a honeymoon somewhere far away and warm. Maybe that's where it had come from. Katara ended up crying all over it while Yue pat her back reassuringly.

She could still remember the princess's words with perfect clarity.

 _Fathers want to do best for their daughters, even if they don't get it right,_ Yue had whispered, cradling her against the thick fur of her night robe. _They always want the best for us._

 _This isn't what's best for me!_ Katara had sobbed angrily. She clutched the betrothal necklace on her neck - Nanuq had carved a sea port onto the white stone. _He's not what's best for me!_

Thankfully, tears didn't stain silk.

It was too beautiful of a dress for her to not have worn yet, no matter how distressing the memories attached to it were. It was unacceptable. Republic City was always having some sort of event or another, be it at city hall, Republic Hotel's ballroom, or at the private dwelling of some millionaire engineer (the city had so many... _too_ many, in her opinion). Toph dragged her along to plenty of places for fun, free food, or to just be around the heads of the Police Department for possible promotion purposes.

Katara sighed to herself as she stared at the pink dress, remembering the warmth of her blankets, the frigidity of Pakku's expression, and the cold of the fullness of the moon as she snuck away on that tiny little paddle boat to the Earth Kingdom.

 _I miss Yue_ , she'd said aloud to herself.

Speaking had broken her out of her somewhat bitter reverie. Without another moment's hesitation Katara had shifted the beige robe onto her shoulder as she hung the pink one up.

Katara managed to escape conversation with a very excited Earth King by tittering an excuse to leave and covering the bottom half of her face. She was quite aware of the crude wanted posters' art of her face that might still be plastered all over his city... _and_ the Dai Li agents that melted into the shadows at the very corners of the City Hall building. She'd done her makeup purposefully heavy for that particular reason. Flawlessly powdered skin, darkened eyes, long lashes, heavily blushed cheeks, and even a particularly heavy updo sat on her head. She'd even roughly combed her hair from curled to wavy. There was no way in hell was going to get caught in what had long since become her own territory.

Katara was still thinking of the dress as she slipped through the crowd, covertly searching for Water Tribe clothing. _That_ dress. And by extension, the engagement, and Nanuq. Already, she found herself slipping farther away from Toph and a very chipper Bumi with the need to isolate herself.

The dress that could sour her mood in an instant. The dress that reminded her of Qiang's betrothal necklace laying at the very bottom of her jewelry box. The dress that reminded her that Master Pakku had not learned from what Gran Gran had tried teaching him him - what _Katara_ had meant to teach him. The dress that reminded her that she might never truly find somewhere to call permanently home. An article of clothing, she mused wryly, that seemed to have more power over her than anything else in her life.

One day, she was going to wear that stupid dress and make a better memory in it and feel happier. Until then-

A hand grasped her by the upper arm, as yanked her attention backwards.

"Katara?"

She whirled around, first finding Fire Nation red clothes and Water Tribe blue eyes overseeing an incredibly wide _Sokka_ smile.

.

.

.

 _I don't think I can do this without you,_ she'd told him.

Her brother had left home with her father when they were three weeks after their grandmother died.

 _I can't leave dad the way he is right now_ , Sokka had told her as he helped pack her things away. It was a particularly freezing night that had numbed her nose quite quickly. The moon was skinny and waxing outside, ready to disappear by the time night fell the next day. _Not right now. Not this way._

 _But you can leave_ me _, huh?_ Katara had mumbled to herself, staring at her shoes. _I don't want to go find Pakku all on my own._

Sokka frowned at her, pausing for a very long moment as he crouched low to the ground to gather all of his things. He stood with a surprising amount of grace. _It's not going to be easy, but it won't be impossible either. You're stronger than I am - not because you're a bender,_ he'd said, sounding so much older than fifteen. _Because you always pick up the pieces, better and faster and easier. Because you're smart. Because you're tough. You'll be okay without me up there._

Then, he smiled sadly before he pulled her into a hug. _And you have to do what Gran Gran said. She wouldn't want you to let your freaky water talents to go waste._

Katara pouted. _Shut up._

It didn't make any sense. _Any_ sense - not even even with skewered Sokka Logic. She didn't feel strong. She felt hurt and weak and tired and useless and just plain awful. Even her urge to find a waterbending teacher had disappeared right when the opportunity had been handed to her on a silver platter on her grandmother's dying breath. Katara reached up to press her fingers agianst her throat where the betrothal necklace lay. Her mother's necklace felt heavy, even now.

Gran Gran's necklace. Pakku's necklace.

 _The next time I see you, you're gonna be a badass bending Master_ , Sokka said, giving her a squeeze. _And I'll be...less prone to getting fish hooks stuck in my fingers._

 _I doubt that_ , Katara muttered. It did the trick. The depressing atmosphere left them as Sokka squawked, and then wrestled her into a noogie.

.

.

.

 _Go the North Pole. Ask for Pakku. Give him your mother's necklace, and say I sent you._

 _What if he says no?_

Gran Gran laughed, an amused glint in her eye, as if she was going to say _I dare him_.

.

.

.

 **A/N:** _EEEEEE I enjoyed writing this! I hope you enjoyed reading! Remember to review!_

 _I don't really see fics emphasizing the bond/friendship between Katara and Toph, so I'm taking it upon myself to take the lead in this AU. Two runaways meeting up, exchanging stories of loneliness and shitty parenting and people underestimating them. Like please imagine Katara being in total awe of Toph because of how young but super strong she is, making her disability an almost obsolete factor in her status as a warrior! Please imagine Toph being in total awe of Katara going to ridiculous lengths to get to the North Pole just to find a bending teacher, then risking that guarantee of getting the teacher to actually teacher by giving Aang her necklace, then giving up all guarantees of a stable life just for her freedom! And she makes a mean stew!_ _I mean, neither would say so outloud aside from a few obvious moments when they can't help it, because Katara doesn't want to inflate Toph's head and Toph shows emotion strictly through physical pain._

 _Although Katara is ofc still the same stuffy, morthering Katara who gets quite hypocritical about Toph staying out of trouble with all the mess she's gotten out of. Well, hypocritical only because Katara wants the best for her. Obviously. Not that Toph recognizes that for a while._ _Plus them interacting just makes me happy, so I'm gonna indulge my damn self._


	3. time bomb

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.

.

All she saw was the deep burgundy of his formal tunic as she pressed her face into his chest, picking up the sound of his heartbeat. It was as steady as steady as the slow garble of a forest creak, as loud as a drumbeat and just as strong. Katara squeezed him hard for spirits' knew _how_ long and bit down on her lower lip to keep away the tears.

"Sokka!" she said, pulling away just a bit to look at him. " _Sokka_! What are you _doing_ here?"

Katara hadn't seen her brother since he was fifteen; it almost shocked her how different he looked. His skin was darker, his hair was shorter, and there was the makings of quite a neat beard that was making its' way onto his face. There wasn't much difference between him and their father now. The narrowness of his face was their mother's, but the rest of the similarities practically unnoticeable. It almost made her sad for a moment. Her brother had all but grown into a man without her.

And suddenly, he regressed years, eyes bugging out ridiculously.

"What am _I_ doing here? Where have you been!? What are _you_ doing here!?" Sokka said aloud, stepping away with his hands braced at her shoulders. He looked her up and down with his mouth wide open. "You've gotten so big! My baby sister _is a woman_!"

Katara laughed, and Sokka laughed, and they hugged again, and he made a show up picking her up to spin her around in a shocking display of strength. She gaped for a good minute as he poked her directly on the nose and made another string of commentary. They were making quite the scene as several eyes turned in their direction in question. As she pressed both her hands against Sokka's face, reality caught up to her, and she felt the bubble of happiness inside of her burst. Sokka took her hands from his face and just held them.

His hands were terribly calloused; they were rough and thick and as worn as leather. It brought a strange sadness to her throat. He'd never had hands as rough as her own, even when they were children. What hard work had he been pushed into? What strain was on his shoulders now?

The growing darkness in his face brought worry inside of her. His, as brilliant as her own, shone too intensely for her to meet head on anymore.

"Why did you leave the North Pole?" Sokka said, voice full of emotion. Hurt, urgency, confusion. "Why didn't you write us? Is this where you've been all this time?"

Katara swallowed and squeezed down on his hands. "Dad didn't tell you? He isn't here tonight?" she whispered.

Well that was just - wow.

 _He auctions off his own daughter to the highest bidder without even bothering to tell her brother about it_ , Katara thought bitterly to herself, anger and hate and old, tired hurt inside of her heart throbbing inside of her chest. It felt like a fresh wound. Tears prickled in the back of her eyes. _If he really thought he was doing what's best for me, why would he try and save face in front of Sokka? What sort of story did he make up? Did I just disappear?_

"He's not. I'm stepping in for him tonight as the representative of the South Pole. I just borrowed something decent from a friend. Didn't have any Water Tribe formal wear on me. It's kind of misleading, but y'know," Sokka said, looking down sheepishly. The only thing that held a hint of blue on it was the boomerang strapped to his hip by a thick leather belt. On his other hip was a sword with an expensive looking scabbard. Her eyes went wide at the sight of it. "And what didn't Dad tell me?"

Katara looked back up to him, then around her, shaking her head. "Later. _Tonight_. I'll tell you everything. I promise," she murmured.

It took a minute for him to nod.

"What's going on?"

Katara blinked as a young man with a splotch of reddened, leathery skin on the left side of his face. It was the first thing she noticed, and for a moment all she knew was the flash of absolute horror as she ignored the flame-shaped crown peaking out from his hair. She fell into a stiff bow, plastering a strained smile onto her face and fighting for it to feel more natural.

"Prince Zu- _Sokka_ , let go!"

"Don't bother. The jerkbender doesn't like people bowing to him."

Zuko sighed deeply. "Please stop manhandling the young lady, Sokka."

Sokka had Katara by the back of her dress robes, lifting her up and keeping her at arms length from him. Which was smart, considering she was trying to discretely smack him in the chest with her fan. Sokka had reluctantly let her go, which she immediately attempted to smooth out the back of her collar while glaring at her older brother. Then, she realized she was once again in the presence of the Fire Nation's Prince, and gave him a questioning look.

"Do you know my brother?" Katara fought the teasing smile on my face. "If so, I apologize on his behalf."

Sokka squawked indignantly, the pitch of his voice going several octaves higher as Zuko smirked. "It's alright. You get used to it," he said.

"I certainly didn't," Katara replied.

"Oh haha! So funny! Clever! The _both_ of you are jerkbenders."

"Who's the jerkbender now?"

An Air Nomad walked up towards the three of them, leaning an arm against the Prince's shoulder spikes and shifting to face him. Said Princeshrugged. Katara stared him down in gaping shock, her fan almost falling to the floor.

He was much taller now, taller than all three of them, but still lithe and narrow. He wore formal Air Nomad garments made of cotton dyed a soft saffron that was easily the least expensive and showy outfit she'd seen tonight, but he still stood out easily. The cyan blue arrow tattoo going down over his head and stopping at the backs of his hands made his skin that hadn't changed a bit looked pale against the florescent light.

It was almost like he was a completely different person, except not at all. Not a bit of baby fat had been left on his face that made him look so childlike; there was nothing but the sharp line of his jaw, the strength of his brow, the soft curve of his smile. The only thing that had truly remained the same was his eyes.

Still big, still kind, still impossibly storm-cloud grey.

"Aang, meet my baby sister!" Sokka said, stepping behind her with his hands on her shoulder, as if displaying a favorite toy. Katara broke away from her reverie, attemping to struggle from her brothers' grip as the Air Nomad and the Prince brought their attention to her. She could feel her face going four different shades of red as she realized she'd been oggling. "She's- well, she's not really a baby anymore, huh? When did you get so strong? Will you quit struggling?"

Katara slipped out of Sokka grasp with a whack of her fan to his face, and then she turned it on Aang.

He gaped, throwing his hands up in surrender as Katara forced herself not to ogle. The way he looked, she _knew_ he was the young monk who had found her washed up on the beaches of the Patola Mountain Range four and a half years ago. _But_.

Katara did not once regret giving Aang her necklace. Not when she'd struggled her way to Kyoshi Island, not when sneaking onto a trading ship filled with tea, and not when she'd challenged Pakku in a duel every single day for three weeks straight until he'd finally relented to teaching her.

Maybe a part of it was her was just being stubborn, but she couldn't help but feel right. Looking into his storm cloud eyes, she had _felt_ something. She knew in her stomach that she could trust him. Not just because he talked to her in a way that no other boy ever had, even to this day, but because he'd given her back something that she'd lost in that ship wreck. The most important thing to her. Because hope kept her through her mother and grandmother's deaths.

Since that day, she hadn't lost it. She just hoped that he hadn't lost something _else_ that belonged to her. You couldn't will away a possibility like that with _feelings_.

"Do you still have it?" Katara asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

Aang looked almost offended, opening his mouth for a minute, before pausing with a sigh. He pulled down the high collar of his shirt to reveal the small white stone, the sea and the horizon carved onto it. The silk strap looked no worse for wear. Her entire body relaxed at the sight of it. Zuko frowned pointedly in confusion at the gesture, and Sokka's eyes went wide with realization. She felt her face grow hot.

She knew she shouldn't have doubted him, but still, she was pleased that he had kept it safe.

Aang almost scowled. "Of course I did!"

Katara looked away. "I'm a...worrier," she said in apology. "I wasn't sure if... _regardless_ , I knew I was right to trust you."

"You didn't seem like the type to be wrong very often," Aang replied, his pout twitching into a soft smile.

He didn't seem to be aware that he'd taken a step forward to match the one she'd taken back. The distance was much smaller than before, and she kept her fan up, feeling safer with seeming coy than the flustered mess that she was on the inside. This was not the same twelve year old boy that she'd shared a mango with four years ago. It was a habit that Toph had drilled into her head during their days sneaking into high society earth Kingdom parties with rumbling stomachs and a face full of makeup.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Katara blinked, whirling behind her to see Toph walking forward with narrowed eyes that looked just past her shoulder towards Aang. She crossed her arms and started around at the three crowding her.

"You were damn near having a panic attack a minute ago, Katara," she said, more than a small amount of concern in her tone. Katara knew that the lack of her nickname meant serious business for Toph, but before she could reach out to reassure her, Bumi was all but shouting out behind her. The prince left irate party guests in his wake.

"What's the rush, Beifong?" he said, clamping a hand down on her shoulder. Toph shrugged it off, crossing her arms, but he hadn't noticed. Katara followed his sudden confused stare to Aang. The young Air Nomad was, instead, hovering in delight.

"Aang?" Bumi said.

" _Bumi_!" Aang shouted.

Aang all but attacked the prince with a hug, lifting the prince off his feet, which Bumi was obviously not fond of. He managed to subdue the taller boy in a headlock quite efficiently. It didn't look like the rapid struggles of Aang were affecting him at all. Toph stepped away from the both of them, gravitating towards Katara as she glared in confusion, because really, _what the hell was going on?_

"What is the Avatar doing in Republic City?" Bumi said aloud, going sounding much less Fruitloops and much more Prince of Omashu. "Sticking your nose into politics already, aren't'cha? Look who's growing up."

"I'm not a kid!" Aang choked out.

Katara and Toph gaped in shock. Zuko and Sokka looked a bit confused themselves at the entire display.

 _Avatar_? Katara thought. And then she sighed to herself for her stupidity. _Avatar Aang._

"How do you know the Avatar, Fruitloops?"

Bumi shrugged. "Just an old friend. We've known each for a while. And I did teach him Earth bending way back when. It was bitter work," he said easily, looking down Aang, who was still in his seemingly impossible-to-get-out-of headlock. His face was beginning to turn red as he sputtered utter nonsense, which everyone had decided to ignore. Bumi began to pout. "He never calls me sifu anymore, though."

"I call you sifu if you let me go!" the Avatar haggled.

They seemed to be attracting a bit of a crowd by this time - Aang was not using an inside voice, being restrained in that manner. And Bumi, of course, had never had an inside voice his entire life. Several different dignitaries and other random important people had stopped to watch the two. Katara almost groaned aloud as she saw the city's Police Chief walking over towards them with a determined glare.

"Your boss is coming over here _now_ ," Katara said, pushing her friend forward the kerfuffle. Toph turned to glare in confusion at _her_ instead. "Go do your job. Enforce law and order."

The policewoman sighed, rolling her eyes generously before stepping forward towards the two wrestling teenage boys. In one very smooth movement, Toph grabbed Aang by the back of his collar and slapped Bumi across the face. There was a loud oof as Bumi reeled backwards from the hit, releasing Aang easily. The young Air Nomad let out a deep breath, giving Toph a thankful look.

She didn't let go of his collar, so as he continued to stoop down to her level, she grabbed Bumi with her other hand. Bumi tried resisting against her, but she jerked him strongly until he leaning down at her level as well.

Just at that moment, several people made their way towards the somewhat rowdy group looking extremely concerned and huffy. Namely, the huffiness came from Police Chief Lee and the Mayor. They happened upon the six of them as Toph brandished the Prince of Omashu and Avatar by the collar, holding them by the collars as if they were naughty children prone to acting up. She addressed the Chief in what Katara had long ago dubbed as her Officer Lady Voice.

"Chief, no need to worry," she said, addressing her boss. "Just breaking up a scuffle. These two will go and cool off in lock up. I'll be taking care of this. Have a nice night."

And Toph dragged them away.

On instinct, Katara followed, waving over the Prince and her brother to follow her lead.

She'd led the six of them to the very back of the gala towards the balcony stairs. Passing a few waiters on the way, she'd all but tossed Bumi and Aang away from her to ask for food and drink to be sent down after them. It took Katara a few moments to realize where they were going - she wasn't quite sure if they were allowed on to City Hall's personal courtyard, even with Toph supposed all-access clearance to the whole building for the night. At least they would get a beautiful view before they would be kicked out.

Toph had waved them towards the ridiculously wide set of stairs that seemed to go on endlessly. They descended forwards reluctantly, squinting in the darkness. The party they left behind became distantly quieter the lower they went.

Katara grasped the folds of her dress from her thigh to make sure she didn't trip on the extra fabric. and turned around to reach for Sokka's hand for help. Aang beat her too it, slyly slipping his hand into her own to steady her.

"I gotcha."

"Thanks."

They smiled at each other for a moment longer than necessary.

The feel of his hand was strange. It was remarkably warm and soft, few callouses to find except on the heel of his palm and knuckles. She resisted the urge to explore it with her own fingers as he shifted a little closer so that there arms weren't stretched so far out. Aang walked a step ahead of her, so it was hard to catch the expression on his face from where she walked. His jaw looked tense and she wasn't sure if she was imagining it.

The lights were lower here. His skin looked a sun kissed yellow against the flickering candlelight from the chandeliers above them.

The years had been good to him, Katara decided quietly to herself. With that neutral expression on his face, he looked like a man that had come into his own. She hoped he would think the same of her.

"So, uh...who's the cop lady?" Sokka asked behind her. She and Aang looked over their shoulders to see his bewildered expression.

"And how'd she get so strong?" Aang muttered.

"Republic City Police Academy does a _wonder_ to the body, boys. You should try it out sometimes," Toph called out behind her in reply. Katara smiled as she lifted an arm to flex her muscles underneath her coat. They were more than impressive.

"That's Toph. She's officer of the city's police force," Katara explained. Her tone took on a more sarcastic tone as she went on. "You can also address her as the Greatest Earth Bender to Ever Exist."

"First Class Sergeant Toph Beifong, Sugar Queen."

"Right. _That_."

"A cop is a cop, Toph. But that second title is still _definitely_ up for debate. Don't get too comfortable," Bumi said, sounding incredibly serious. He watched Toph's back as if he were examining a great sculpture. "Which will be settled soon enough. Personally, I think the lady would much rather prefer Queen."

"The lady would much rather prefer kicking your ass."

"Any time, sweetheart."

"This night keeps getting more confusing the more you people keep talking," the Prince said aloud, drawing all attention to him. Aang grinned unabashedly as his friend pinched the bridge of his nose. "What's a Beifong doing in _this_ city as a cop in the first place? How does Aang even _know_ Sokka's sister? And how do _they_ know Bumi?"

Sokka clapped Zuko on the back loudly as Toph loudly cackled (which made Aang literally flinch). Zuko nearly fell to the floor and probably held back his own flinch. It earned him a glare an a (dodged) smack. " _Bingo_! Leave it up to my favorite royal brat to ask all the right questions! Now I need answers," Sokka said loudly. And then he pointed at Aang. "And stop standing so close to my baby sister. I don't care if you're a monk."

Toph scoffed aloud as she made it up to the last stair, hands at her hips. "Your older brother's a riot, Sugar Queen."

Katara giggled as she pulled Aang closer to her by their hands. "Isn't he? It's cute how he thinks he can still tell me what to do."

Sokka scoffed indignantly as Toph nearly fell over in laughter. He stepped forward to snatch her hand out of Aang's as they all made it up to the stairs. Scuffling could be heard as Katara slipped away from them to stand beside Toph as she watched her friend walk onto the balcony, stomping her bare feet before cracking her knuckles. The waterbender knew that her friend was checking to see if it was structurally safe for the building if she used her bending here - it was one of the few set backs living in the city had. Some places simple could not handle the shifting and altering of its' stone foundations or the earth underneath.

"And I thought the apartment had a view," Sokka said, awe in his voice.

"It's beautiful," Aang murmured.

City Hall's courtyard was closed off to the public from entering, but from the inside, the view of the public and the city plaza was amazing. Buildings stretched out in a large circle that surrounded a large statue of the four city founders: a firebending engineer from the Fire Nation, a nonbending architect from the Earth Kingdom, a nonbending engineer from the Northern Water Tribe, and a Air Nomad from the Western Air Temple who drew up a vast majority of the city's laws and policies. Their likenesses stood forty feet high with their backs to each other, faces towards the sky. The streets were glittering with late morning dew and the street lights were illuminating everything in a warm glow reminiscent of simmering stars. Katara sighed as she held her fan in both hands behind her back, admiring the sight. If there was one view she would never get tired of no matter how long she lived, this might just have been it.

Toph bended a large, circular table from the ground with six seats surrounding it. Katara was almost surprised at the complete symmetry of it, but she refrained from stroking her friend's ego.

"Shoddy handiwork," Bumi said aloud.

Toph shot a fist into the air, elbow held close to her body in a very Probending-esque move, and Bumi went flying.

"Remind me not to piss her off," Sokka drawled, giving Toph an impressed and intimidated look at the same time.

Zuko scoffed aloud, smacking her brother upside the head none too gently. "Seriously? You couldn't figure that out when she dragged two men twice her weight around like rag dolls?" the Prince said incredulously.

"Since when does Aang count as a man?" Sokka replied.

"Hey!"

There was more than a bit of squabbling between the three of them, with Bumi loudly complaining about having to dust off his clothes, and Aang helping overzealously with a ridiculously large blast of air that sent the prince flying for a second time, and Sokka pulling Zuko into a full nelson as they were led to the table Toph erected. Aang made it a point to sit next to Katara, which further incited Sokka's wrath. Katara sighed and grabbed Toph so she could sit on her other side.

"I'm _watching you_ , punk," Sokka grumbled, reaching over the table to point a finger in Aang's face.

"Well I'm not," Toph said aloud. Katara bit down a smile when Zuko gave her a curious look. "You wanna start talking, Sugar Queen? How did you make nice with the Avatar?"

"I'm curious too, you know!" Sokka added.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose again.

Katara shrugged, turning to meet Aang's eyes that were already on her. "It's not that much of a story. When I left South Pole, I sailed into a storm. No one mentioned that it was hurricane season," she said, giving her brother a sly look. Sokka gaped, looking immediately concerned and fearful. She didn't like that look whatsoever. "I made it out okay, though. I managed to swim through it and onto a random island."

"And then I saw her pop out of the water with blood all over her face, stumbling onto shore," Aang said, frowning wistfully at the memory. Katara couldn't imagine how the scene had looked for him.

"Head wounds tend to bleed more than other places of the body. They always look more serious than they really are," she said, as if dismissing the claim. She reached up to press her fingers against the left side of her temple to the old, jagged mark that was a tad paler than the rest of her skin and only visible in bright light. "It didn't scar that badly at all."

"I probably should have used stitches or something," Aang said in apology. "But I can barely sew the rips in Sokka's pants."

"Bros sewing up things for bros. How domestic," Toph said good naturedly, giving a smirk in Aang's direction.

Katara took a bit of offense to this, but she hid it. "Interesting. I've yet to meet a boy who's fragile masculinity isn't permanently damaged by the idea of sewing up his own clothes," she said, giving a pointed look to her brother, who rolled his eyes.

"My masculinity is made of tough stuff," Aang said simply.

Sokka groaned aloud. " _Yes_ , Aang, you like sewing and making flower crowns and jewelry and you still like girls. _Congratulations_. But my baby sister shipwrecked in the middle of hurricane season so I think she's tougher than the both of us," he said. Everyone agreed to this with nods. "How the hell did you get to the North Pole if you ship wrecked?"

"She swam," Aang said, clearly impressed. Everyone's eyes went wide as they locked in on Katara. "Walked right back into the water and paddled away. She hadn't even had the cut on her head bandaged for an hour."

Katara felt her face turn red. She squeezed the fan in her lap. "Kyoshi Island isn't _that_ far from the Patola Mountain Range," she said as she nudged Aang with her elbow. "I got good directions from a great kid."

"I'm not one now," Aang mumbled.

"Well, you definitely are _our_ kid," Sokka said, looping an arm around Zuko's shoulders and pointing a thumb to himself. Toph chuckled, turning towards Bumi somewhat and slapping him against the arm. "It's nice being a role model to someone so young."

"Sixteen isn't that young," Aang huffed.

"So he's corrupted you? What's my brother got you doing, Aang?" Katara said, a worrying tone in her voice. Everyone laughed as she made a show of sitting up and pressing a hand against Aang's forehead. If she was being honest with herself, it was just a (good) excuse to get closer to move closer to him. It didn't seem like he minded - his cheeks and nose were turning a soft shade of pink.

"Nothing that he hasn't willingly participated in," Zuko said in knowing tone, pulling away from Sokka to give him a look.

"Hey!" Aang said, pulling away from Katara to point at the Prince. "What happens in Ba Sing Se _stays_ in Ba Sing Se."

Bumi laughed boisterously. "Damn straight."

The police woman beside him rolled her eyes liberally. "Unless you idiots still have your wanted posters up in the Earth Kingdom capital, then you really _don't_ know the meaning of that phrase," she said. Katara sighed.

" _Wanted_ _posters_?" Sokka hissed.

Aang leaned in a bit for propriety's sake, murmuring into her ear, "What did _you_ get up to in Ba Sing Se?"

She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck. Katara brought out her fan and with a flick of her wrist, had her face hidden up to her nose. "Don't you know? What happens in Ba Sing Se... _stays_ _in Ba Sing Se_ , my dear Avatar," she said with a particularly haughty Ba Sing Se accent. She even winked. It earned her a smile. "Which is why my dearest friend should _stop mentioning it_ everywhere we go."

"But Lady Katara, it seems the three of you had much more fun than we did. I wonder what whore house they happened to visit," Toph added, mimicking the accent. The three boys' eyes went wide, and Katara raised a brow at the silent admission. She pressed a hand against her heart and turned a scandalous look in Bumi's direction. The two girls leaned into each other and laughed heartily. Katara dabbed at the tears pooling in her eyes, careful not to disturb her kohl liner or face powder. "What misguided, _troubled_ youth!"

Several waiters came into the courtyard then, looking particularly frightened.

"I hope they have firewhiskey," Zuko muttered, waving them all over.

They didn't - the only alcoholic beverage of the night seemed to be a bubbling champagne that was terribly difficult to get truly drunk with. Zuko grumbled about this petulantly as he attempted drinking from the bottle after the waiters had poured them all flutes. The various foods placed in front of them at the very center of the table were ignored. Katara coughed loudly as Toph picked up her flute. The earthbender sighed as she handed Bumi her flute. He downed it in one sitting.

"The drinking age in Republic City is eighteen kid," Bumi said, giving Aang an incredibly smug look. "Fork it over."

Aang frowned, but let Katara slip the flute from his fingers. "Better here than other cities. It's twenty one in most of the Earth Kingdom," Katara told him.

Bumi smiled charmingly. "Sixteen in Omashu."

Katara shook her head at the utter nonsense before taking a sip of Aang's flute. He watched her swallow with a carefully blank expression before half wrestling the glass back into his own hands. He downed the rest rather gracefully, his lips against the same place where she had put her own. If her face didn't feel so hot, she might have found it in her to be a bit more upset.

"Exceptions should be made for the Avatar," Aang said, a mockingly diplomatic voice. Zuko raised the bottle towards him in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah," Toph muttered.

Sokka wrestled the bottle from Zuko, made a show of refilling flutes, and then stood. "Katara, let's talk over there for a minute," her older brother said, gesturing with the bottle towards the open space behind her that face. "I want some alone time with my favorite baby sister, so if you people don't mind, I'm gonna take it."

"I'm your _only_ younger sister."

"Unless you're including Aang," Toph added.

"Hey!" Aang snapped, frowning at her.

"Ignore her. She's teasing," Katara promised, reaching out to discretely give his hand a quick squeeze before grabbing her glass of champagne. "Lead the way, favorite sibling."

"Of course."

In a surprisingly sweet gesture, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her away from the table. He almost fooled her with his jovial expression that he'd shown the others, but his arms were tense, his eyes were pinched, and she knew for a fact that he was nervous about what she had to say. Katara wouldn't be surprised if he already had an inkling of it.

It was a beautiful night, the sky black and the streetlights almost warm.

"You smell different," Katara said through a sigh, sounding sad. Metal, ash, sandalwood, and warmth permeated from his skin.. Years ago it would have been the cold air, leather, salt water, and hot peppers. "Not a whiff of seal jerky on you."

"Seriously? I just had some on the way over here," Sokka replied, almost surprised. "But you smell different too. Like a _girl_. It's gross."

"A woman," Katara corrected. "You missed my nineteenth birthday by a month."

Sokka sighed. "I would have been here in a second if you'd have written me, Katara. If you'd have been home. I would have done _anything_ ," he said, pulling her even closer. She felt the back of her eyes sting with tears she didn't bothing holding back. She didn't want to have to tell him this, no matter how angry she still was with her father - Katara didn't want to damage their relationship for this. "Why did you leave the North Pole? Does it have something to do with Dad?"

Katara took a dainty sip of her champagne and blinked away the blurriness of her vision.

.

.

.

 _It's a good match. He's a strong, tough young man. He'll keep you grounded_ , Arnook had said, a rare kindness in his voice.

Yue bit down on her lip.

It looked almost as painful as this entire situation.

Katara stood inside the home of the Cheif's study in her finest winter coat. She'd outgrown her last one had bought this one from her own money, the days she spent working at a local tea shop in the very heart of town when she wasn't waterbending or healing or sitting by the docks with Yue to talk about nothing. It was a deep, navy blue with the usual white fur trimmings and fang-shaped hooks that closed it. If she knew what was going to be happening today, she would have made an effort to look as undesireable as possible.

Nunuq was rather short for eighteen, but he still towered over Katara. His hair was long, silken black, shaven into an undercut in customary Water Tribe fashion, tied into a small bun at the top of his head. He wore warrior armor, a machete hanging from his hip in an intricately detailed scabbard.

 _Your father would be proud to see this moment_ , Katara, Pakku had said softly from behind her. _He's doing what's best for you._

The urge to scream had been powerful.

Instead, she stayed silent. Nunuq slipped the necklace from his own throat without fanfare before walking towards her. The braid that fell down her back was moved over her shoulder by his gloved hand. He tied the choker around her neck firmly, taking his time. Katara was uncomfortably reminded of a noose. He stayed a moment to let his hands rest at her shoulders to squeeze them comfortingly. It did nothing to reassure her.

Nunuq stepped away as Arnook stood and began to announce their marriage rights. They bowed. He smiled again.

Katara followed after Nunuq and his father, much slower than necessary. Facing Pakku in that moment was painful. She'd come to see the stubborn old man as a surrogate grandfather - he might as well have been, with how close he'd come to marrying her grandmother. So it hurt to know he'd planned this. It hurt to know he'd followed through on her father's word. It hurt to see the man who had empowered her, acknowledged her, made her care so _deeply_ for him, just to strip that all away from her this way. She felt heavy, thick, as if struggling through mud. But the air was high through her nose as she breathed. Pain throbbing inside of her chest, just behind her ribs, feeling herself ready to burst with a whirlwind of feeling that was dark, _angry_ , she'd had one of the most shameful moments of her life.

The voice inside of her, the wailing, angry one, knew exactly what to say to make him hurt.

 _Would Kanna be proud of me, Sifu?_ Katara said, her voice clear as day. She was sure he'd stopped breathing. _Because she wouldn't be proud of you._

Katara had left to cry, left the Chief's extravagant home, and went to cry in the privacy of her home like a woman.

.

.

.

Sokka was crying. It wasn't that strange of a sight - she would never forget the fishhook incident - but on this older version of him it made her heart shatter into jagged pieces. She wasn't sure if she would ever forget the sight. She felt her own tears fall, thick and fat, over her cheeks. But she couldn't quit talking, couldn't quit making it worse and worse and worse.

"And I just- I l-l-left the room and didn't look back. Yue gave me this beautiful, _beautiful_ dress as a present and I've never worn it but but I hope it still fits, because god. It's so beautiful, Sokka. I don't want to be- to be _haunted_ for the rest of my l-l-life. I _don't_. I want those _stupid_ \- I want to be _happy_. I want to live a new life where I'm deciding what's best for _me_. And I thought Sifu _understood_ that but he just- l-l-l-like I was _chattle_ \- and _Dad_!- oh, Sokka, I couldn't. I just couldn't. I left that night. I packed jasmine tea and seal jerky and my waterskin and I was _gone_. I c-c-couldn't go through with-!"

" _Breathe_ , Katara."

Katara could not find her lungs.

Sokka stumbled to the floor to sit with cross legged, and she followed, crouching, paying mind to dirtying her dress. Katara wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulders and pulled him close and took her sweet time finding her lungs.

"I'm sorry I couldn't see you, or say anything," Katara whimpered, feeling herself shake. "I wasn't sure if Dad would just...ship me back right where I came from. I didn't want to be found. I was scared. I was a coward."

Sokka shook his head. "You are the bravest person I know. So I don't blame you. I _don't_ ," he said, a painful roughness in his tone. "I-I just...I could have talked him out of it, you know? I could have gone to see you. To stop it. I could have left with you. I just...I missed you."

"I missed you too." Katara dabbed away at her tears, cursing her makeup. "I missed you so much."

The bottle of champagne and her emptied flute were set on the floor carefully. They were quiet for a long time, staring out at Republic City plaza past the thick garden foliage of the courtyard. The moon waning again, just like the night before she'd left, ready to disappear by this time tonight. It looked as sharp as the outline of Toph's nails, the curved edge of Jet's sickle blades, the edge a sunrise bleeding into the horizon.

"I'm proud of you," Sokka said quietly. He roughly wiped away his tears with his forearm. "I'm so goddamn proud."

"I should be saying that," she mumbled. Katara was still the same runaway that had found a place to stop running. "You're a...a representative for our tribe. Hanging around the Avatar and the Prince, for whatever reason."

"Probably not as fun as your story," Sokka grumbled.

"If by fun, you mean frightening and life threatening, then I really hope so," Katara shot back, smacking his chest. "I'm glad you've kept yourself safe."

"Not that it'll stay that way for long," Sokka said darkly. Katara blinked, shifting away from him to give watch him. He continued staring off aimlessly and took a long swig from the champagne bottle. It was a long time before shook his head, deliberately, slowly. "I don't think I should tell you _that_ just yet. But let's just say that there's a reason why Firelord Lu Ten isn't here himself."

"Is it the reason why the Avatar's managed to master all the elements within three years?" Katara asked, a careful tone in her voice. Sokka's eyes went wide as he stared at her. Ah. "Or maybe because the only world leaders that are here either have too much money to spare or too much privatized man power? Because it smells like a civil war to me."

"How did you-?"

"Politics and gossip are a culture in Republic City, Sokka."

He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I can't talk about it here. I don't- it's not safe to even say out loud. Who _knows_ who's listening?" Sokka said, eyes gazing out towards the horizon again. "I don't know why capital city rumors are this far out, but that only means things are getting worse. Keeping your nose out of it."

"How long will you be in the city, Sokka?" Katara sidetracked.

"Officially, three months," he said. "For you, as long as you need me."

"I'm always going to need you, stupid," Katara said, smacking him again. "But that doesn't mean we... _have_ to be together. I have a home here. And Toph's my family now. There's no way she can go to the South Pole, and I wouldn't want to go without her."

Sokka frowned, looking over his shoulder to stare at the uniformed officer that was taking a large bite out of something circular in the distance. Then she turned her head in their direction, eyes soft, and Katara knew that she could hear them.

"Why? Why couldn't she come? I know her family's super rich and all, but if they let her chill out here as a cop, then they shouldn't have a problem with her staying with us," Sokka said. "Or even visiting. She's cool. I'd invite her to go penguin sledding."

Katara shook her head before standing. "Toph's blind. The way she... _sees_ involves her earth bending. She senses the vibrations around her with her feet. It's too cold there for her to go barefoot all the time, and otherwise, she's truly blind," she explained, wringing her hands irately. Katara stared out at her best friend, feeling distinctly nauseated. "And she hates that. I would never ask her to give up her sight just to stay beside me."

"Hey, hey, cool it. I wouldn't ask you to ask her," Sokka said, standing as well. He set his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face him. "I mean- wow, this whole night's been a lot to take in. We'll just take it one day at a time. I won't rush you. But I will be apart of your life. I don't give a fuck about Dad. I'll pack up and move and become a permanent representative for the city. They'll appoint me a house and everything."

"Oh, Sokka." Katara physically wilted. There was still so much left to say.

"It's true. I want to look after you. You've had to do it yourself for too long," Sokka said, pulling her into a fierce embrace. Katara returned it with all the strength. "Too long. I'm sorry for not being a good enough older brother. But I'm going to fix that now. For good."

"Don't say that. Please. I wouldn't have gone to the North Pole in the first place if you hadn't pushed me," Katara said. The old, childish need to impress her brother bubbled up into her throat. "And now...now, I could give anyone a run for their money."

"I want front row seats," Sokka muttered, pressing a kiss into her hair. "My baby sister is a water magicky badass."

Katara felt another tear slip past her defenses.

They pulled apart to stare happily at one another, but Sokka turned his head abruptly to see Zuko standing and motioning towards them. A guard in a Fire Nation uniform stood behind him, arms crossed behind him. Her older brother groaned with a roll of his eyes. She watched Aang stand as well, slipping out of his seat and staring back at the two with a strange glint in his eyes.

"Give me five minutes!" Sokka called out. "Sorry, Zuko!"

The Prince nodded, waving over Aang, but the Avatar shook his head. Zuko groaned aloud at whatever he said before whirling around and stomping off. Katara pouted as she watched him leave, clearly irritated. She hoped that whatever was happening in the Fire Nation wasn't working his nerves too badly.

"Aang's gotta go make his speech for the night. Looks like Zuko's gonna ask to go before him," Sokka said, pulling her attention back to him. "Will you be able to stay for the rest of the party? After all the stupid, boring speeches? I want to keep talking."

"I _really_ can't. I have an early morning shift at the city hospital tomorrow morning. I honestly should have been in bed an hour ago," Katara said apologetically. Toph's shift was probably ending soon too. She spent a full second panicking, looking around for something she could write down her address with before it clicked. "But Bumi will probably be around to shmooze. If you can find Bumi tomorrow, then you'll find Toph. We live together on Opal Street. Come see me _whenever_. I'll have tea and stew ready for you."

"I won't keep you waiting," Sokka said irately. "I swear."

"I don't care if you do. It'll just be returning the favor," Katara said, giving a sad smile.

"No more apologies."

"No more. I promise."

Sokka grabbed her face and pressed a kiss against her temple, pulling her into a tight hug, and then he was sprinting off behind Zuko. But then he paused ten feet away before sprinting back immediately. "Wait, wait, _fuck_ , wait, I forgot something!" he shouted, grabbing her shoulders again. The urgency in him was adorable, but still worrying. "You need to promise me something."

"Anything," Katara promised immediately. "Anything you want."

"Good. _Good_. Because I know your hard head won't like it," Sokka replied, the same dark expression and tone that had her going into dangerous speculations. "You have to promise that you'll leave the city, no questions asked, if I tell you to. You have to _promise_ to be out your door in a heartbeat when I tell you to."

Katara's eyes went wide. "What? Are you-?"

" _Promise me_!"

They both flinched at the volume and vigor of his voice. He closed his eyes, breathed, before facing her again. "Katara, please. Promise me," he whispered.

"I promise," Katara said, feeling the lie on her tongue.

Sokka breathed out a big breath of relief, panting for several seconds before jetting off again, faster than before. He paused beside Aang to motion him along as well, but Aang waved and said something that Sokka groaned at. He turned back to look at her, then back at the Air Nomad, before giving her a _we're definitely talking about this later look_ before he motioned between the two of them with an accusatory finger. It made her cringe.

Aang shooed away Sokka, and then he was off again.

Aang turned back towards her and hopped onto a little ball of air, balancing on one foot, shooting his way towards her. Katara's face widened in wonder. It was a cute trick, much different from the sort of bending she expected from a master of all the elements. He was in her face within moments. The grin on his face was purely childish as the air dissipated and he floated onto both feet.

"That's my air scooter. And this," he said, reaching up to unclasp something around his neck, "is your necklace."

Katara reached for it with a smile before a thought came to her, freezing her up. The image of Nanuq unclasping the betrothal necklace from his neck before he placed it on her own made her blonde run cold. She jerked away from the necklace with both hands held up defensively, taking several steps away from him. Oh, she was an _idiot_. Her fourteen year old self was an idiot with too much salt water between her ears. Her present self was an idiot and probably spent too much time sniffing chemicals in the hospital.

"I can't take that Aang," Katara said, shaking her head.

"What!? Why? It's your necklace," he said aloud. He stepped closer and she stepped farther back.

"It's a _betrothal necklace_. You _wore_ it, _took it off_ , and now you're trying to give it to me and- I can't. I-I-It _means_ something," Katara stammered, her face turning red as she remembered the strong line of Nunuq's throat as he slipped the necklace from his neck and clasped it onto her own. "This- this is my fault. I'm sorry. I should have taken it from _you_ the second I saw you."

"I don't understand," Aang said, looking like a confused koalasheep. "Katara, I can't keep something this precious to you. It doesn't feel right."

"And it doesn't feel right taking a betrothal necklace from a boy who just took it off himself," Katara replied, an anguished voice as she watched her mother's necklace sit between his pale fingers. She wanted to cry all over again. "That _means_ something, to me _and_ my people. I'm sorry. This is my fault. I don't mean to burden you."

"Wearing a necklace isn't a burden!" Aang replied, surprisingly shouty. Katara felt her eyes water and he sighed deeply before putting back on the necklace. It was hidden behind the folds of his long collar completely. He stepped forward and pulled her hands into his. She shied away from meeting his eyes, trying desperately to will away her tears. "I would do so much more than this for you, Katara. I'm just worried."

Katara bit down on her lip, the peach lipstick she'd applied dried down onto a matte stain. Flaking, dead skin gave way under her teeth. The raw honesty in his voice made her knees weak, but his eyes were so much worse. Clear and grey and kind.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Don't apologize. It's just...I don't have to understand other people's customs, but I _do_ have to respect them. And I will respect this wholeheartedly," Aang replied soothingly. "I'm not judging you."

"You should," Katara replied. She felt a headache coming on. She closed her eyes and squeezed his hands as she found the words to explain. "It's just- I want to- I've been engaged before. Once I take that necklace from you, whether I wear it or not, I'm bound to you until I give it back. So there's no point in you giving it to me anyway if I'll force it back on you."

Aang pressed his lips together, a sharp, intent focus in his eye.

"You were engaged before," he murmured. "And you couldn't return the necklace."

"It's not a nice feeling," Katara grumbled, feeling sick.

She felt too terrible just ditching it somewhere, or selling it off. The boy who'd given it to her had spent long, _long_ hours making it. It was a token of love that deserved to be on the neck of the woman who loved him as much as he loved her. It did not belong to a forced engagement or a loveless marriage. It meant too much to her. And maybe she was a giant softie. Katara _knew_ she would be better off just giving it to her friend to get rid of in a humane manner, but to her, there was no humane way of getting rid of that necklace.

So it sat, binding her and her bad memories back to the North Pole.

Aang let go of her hands, a determined expression on his face. He took a moment to hold the large wooden necklace around his neck, grasping onto the chain with a strong grip, as if infusing something into it, before he slipped it over his head.

"This is called a _bèi_. It's crafted by head monks and given to a bender that's become a Master," Aang said, slipping the heavy wooden necklace over her head. He held onto the chain as he leaned in to look her in the eye. "Very rarely are they passed down. We're usually cremated with them. It belongs to one of my teachers. His name is Gyatso. He gave it to me before I left for the North Pole to learn waterbending. I haven't gotten to see him since."

"Oh, Aang. I- I _can't_. I really can't," Katara murmured, grabbing onto his wrists.

"Air Nomads don't believe in typical family structures. I never had a mother or father. Monk Gyatso was the one I loved the most. He's the closest thing I had to family growing up and I wouldn't have traded him for anything." Aang completely ignored her protests, letting go of the wood. Katara let go of him in return and clutched at it in exchange. His words being hurried, emotional and heavy. "I have to compromise a lot to be an Air Nomad and a proper Avatar, but this is the one thing that goes against my entire beliefs that I hold onto that has nothing to do with my duty to the world. Sometimes it makes me think I'll never be enlightened or at peace. And I don't care."

Katara wiped away tears, breathing fast and hard. His eyes were looking pretty shiny himself.

"You really don't understand how...amazing you were. How strong you were. How exhilarating it felt watching you get into the water. I was so scared, but I felt _alive_ ," Aang said, clutching at the small stone that laid at his throat. "I thought I imagined you some days."

"Then I was a nightmare," Katara said vehemently, still wiping tears. "A terrible, crazy nightmare."

"You were a dream," Aang told her, just as strongly. "The sweetest dream, come to life. But you're real and I have an obligation to you. I wanted to do right by you _so badly_. And...and now...if I can't, then I want to call in my own favor."

"Anything but this," Katara replied, just as quick. "Anything you want."

He stared at her, long and hard, tears still shining in his eyes. She didn't miss the way his eyelids lowered, and didn't bother to correct herself.

"This is the only thing I want," Aang said. He sighed into a weary smile. "Even if I have to go, or if you have to, then we'll always be connected. Because I'm more than just...just a nomad, just a monk right now. They aren't the full picture. I'm not just me. I have been and will be a hundreds thousand different people with a hundred thousand different lifetimes. That is what I have to protect. _I am the Avatar_."

The way he'd said those final four words - the distant half echo in his voice - the flash of white she thought she'd hallucinated - made her entire body shiver with the power in it. In that moment, Katara believed. She knew.

"I trust you," Katara whispered.

"I'm glad you did. I'm happy. So now it's my turn to trust you. I _know_ you'll keep it safe," Aang said, confident and doubtless and strong.

Katara nodded softly.

"Thank you, Katara." He looked out towards the street lights, before looking back at her. "Katara, Katara, Katara. It feels good to say your name."

Katara was sure that he leaned into her so slowly because he wanted her to give her a way out, but she'd stood still all the same. It was why she'd noticed him pausing in front of her for just the slightest of heartbeats, his face still flushing across his long nose and high cheek bones, his breath fanning over her lips. She knew she wouldn't have turned away that kiss. Even if she hadn't stilled in shock, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would have kissed him back.

His lips pressed against her cheek in a butterfly's kiss, softer than its' wings, leaving as soon as it had arrived.

Aang stepped away, then bended the whirling ball of air back into life as he jumped into the air. Then he was flying.

Katara watched him, fingertips against the place his lips had laid. The energy had drained out of her the second his soft, saffron yellow robes fluttered out of sight. She trudged her way back to the stone table, watching Toph and Bumi converse with heavy expressions on their face. They sat startlingly close together. They sat on top of the table itself with swinging feet, bodies facing towards her, faces turned towards each other. Toph told him something, an angry bite to her voice that rang distantly in the empty night air. Bumi came back with his own sharp retort.

Toph crossed her arms and jerked her head away from him.

The expression of worry and heartbreak on his face made Katara feel so much more than she should have.

He clapped a hand to her shoulder before slipping off the table and shoving his hands into his pockets. He walked off too tensely, too purposefully. Toph remained with her arms crossed, but she allowed herself a sad little frown.

Katara walked up beside her, picking up the folds of her dress, as Toph held a hand out for her to lift her onto the table by her side. It was almost graceful, but she fell down too hard, stumbling into her friend's side.

"You look sad," Katara said plainly. She had no more difficult words for tonight.

"I don't care how I look," Toph replied, sounding how she felt. "I could hear you guys, you know."

"I don't care what you heard," Katara replied, sounding as tired as she felt. "But what was said between me and Aang stays between us. He doesn't understand how good your hearing is yet."

Toph frowned. "I'm not that type of person, Katara."

"I know. But you're a good friend, and good friends meddle in each others' business," Katara soothed, reaching over to toss an arm over Toph's shoulders. Her arms remained defiantly crossed.

"You should know, huh?"

Katara smiled. "I should."

They were quiet for only a second, but not long, because tonight...she didn't want to call it a mess per se. There was nothing messy about finally seeing Sokka after so long. It was a loose end tying itself up again. It was picking up a few pieces. Seeing Aang, her young monk friend from so long ago, had been a bonus she almost couldn't handle. It didn't help that she'd even gone ahead and made a mess of things with her mother's necklace. How was she supposed to get it back now? When he'd already offered it to her that way?

Katara knew that she was being nitpicky, annoying, too much, _whatever_. But she'd already gone through the process once. Her mother's necklace didn't deserve that.

Maybe she'd feel differently in the morning, but for tonight, a cute boy with kind eyes had _accidentally proposed_ because she had been careless. There was no other way that she could see it, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise. Her heart was the most stubborn part of her.

Regardless, they were only quiet for a second, because tonight had been a world wind.

"I don't care what Aang and you talked about, Sugar Queen. I'm talking about your brother," Toph clarified, breathing deeply. Her next words made Katara's stomach drop. "Bumi asked me the exact same question just now, before he left."

" _Boys_ ," Katara moaned reflexively, staring up at the sky to plead with the spirits unconsciously. "No matter what kind of woman it is, they always ask us to stay behind."

"Typical bullshit," Toph replied smoothly. "Try and put your best players out of commission just because they're girls."

"It explains why we live longer."

They laughed, the sound more than a bit pathetic having come from two people, but it was enough. The sky seemed a little less cold above them, the street lights less harsh, but the view just wasn't as beautiful as it was when they'd first walked in. Katara hated how a conversation could change her whole perspective, her whole world, but it was _true_. There was something vastly different about her surroundings now, like when Toph confessed that she'd outed herself in Omashu by mistake. How could she ever look at Republic City as anything but a ticking time bomb again?

"What's supposed to happen? And when?" Katara asked, genuinely confused. The fear was there too, but it hid behind the bending Master pride of her heart. She grabbed onto the large wooden pendant of Aang's necklace with her free hand for courage. "What aren't they telling us? I'm almost _sure_ it has something to do with the Fire Nation. Sokka mentioned it, and basically admitted it himself with the look he gave me. The rumors have been going on now for years though. I don't get it."

"You're right about it involving the Fire Nation, and about the private militias and millionaires and all that other mess. War's expensive," Toph grunted.

"So what? They want more troops? More money to _support_ more troops? Political support from the rest of the world? It could be for anything, inner conflict or not," They drew closer together as a heavy breeze blew through their clothing. It felt more ominous than it should have. "I need to know. Republic City is...Toph, they're telling us all this without any proper explanation. I don't know how to feel besides nervous."

"Nervous? Try annoyed. We're not getting an explanation either," Toph added. Her face soured. "I grilled Bumi about it. The bastard wouldn't budge."

"So that's it? Packing up and leave at the sound of an alarm like- like-?"

"Like refugees."

They both paused at Toph's words. Katara felt herself stop breathing.

"Like we're supposed to be fleeing the second shit hits the fan. The second the enemy touches ground," Toph continued, a distinctly nauseated tone to her voice. She reached into the breast pocket of her uniform coat and retrieved a small set of keys. She twisted it around her index finger skillfully a few times before holding it out for Katara to take. The ring of keys had three, all of them looking slightly different in size. Katara knew that Bumi had given this to her before she'd even started speaking again. "Fruitloops apparently had the foresight to make sure that we'd be going in style."

"I don't understand," Katara said.

"The biggest key is to a house in Ba Sing Se If we can't make it that far, then we should go to the house in Omashu, which is the second biggest key. The smallest is to a car. You're supposed to keep the ones for Ba Sing Se and the car."

Katara frowned, but slipped away from Toph as she began to unhinge the second smallest key from the ring. Her fingers weren't being the most cooperative, so she talked as she tried getting it done. "I understand the car, but why two different houses? And why do you get the one in Omashu?"

"Because Omashu's a hell of a lot closer than Ba Sing Se. Apparently, I'm more likely to get incapacitated or seriously injured, so I should get the closer hideout," Toph said, giving a half hearted scowl. "He probably just wants me somewhere in his territory. Anyways, how does Mad Man know you're a healer?"

"I healed his paper cut once," Katara replied. The keys finally came off with a sharp jerk. "Got it."

Toph took the key from her outstretched hand with trepidation. It was hidden back into the breast pocket of her uniform. The earthbender's well worn hand hadn't left it, though. She pressed against her heart as if it were in pain.

"I don't want to go," she said. The voice she used sounded lost, heartbroken, and thirteen years old all over again. "I don't."

"I _know_ ," Katara said, agonized and just plain angry. Would they be uprooted once again by a force much larger than Katara's bare hands could handle? How soon? "I'm sorry. I can't explain how sorry I am. So when Sokka gives me the word, when he tells me to get out of here as fast as I can, I'm not budging. I won't. I'm fighting for this city. Whatever's going to come, I'll meet it head on."

Toph shook her head. " _We'll_ meet it head on."

Katara sqeezed her hand. " _We_ will," she whispered. They sat there for an eternity, breathing through the weight of an unknown tomorrow on top of their shoulders. Katara was the first to stand and brush away at her robes.

"Let's go home, Toph."

"Yeah...right behind you."

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 **A/N:** _There are so many things I want to discuss. So many oh my god. But I'm just gonna pick one thing from each chapter so these authors notes aren't_ painfully _long. I mean, we can all deal with_ ridiculously _long._

 _I connected with Katara so much and I was digging my fingers into all the unpacked expectations of my culture that have imprinted itself on me and how being a woman is synonymous to being woman/mother and nothing else and how much I hated that and how I just want to be more than that and how I want the people I love to be okay with it and the idea of that not happening...I had too many feelings. I still have feelings and I wrote this two weeks ago._

 _I think Kanna leaving would have Pakku reflecting past his heartbreak (as in why she left), but not quite connecting the dots. Katara went out of her way to learn waterbending properly and outright challenge him. I think that the show somewhat cops out on Pakku recognizing the error of his ways properly, admitting that he's wrong, and then acknowledging women outright as complete equals in bending/life/etc. which is one of the admittedly irrelevant criticisms of the show. I'm still bothered though._

 _That's a part of the reason why I love the idea of Katara giving Aang her necklace for safe keeping, and the main reason for me putting it in this story._ _Pakku's forced to recognize Katara as_ Katara _, the girl who bothered him weeks on end to become a student, and then becoming his_ best one _._

 _Katara telling him that Kanna wouldn't be proud of him, within this setting, with the strong views he knew Kanna held, would probably not only hurt a lot but just...make him think. Words that would have a lasting effect! But make no mistake, she didn't want him to go think in a corner and change his mind. She wanted to hurt him. She poked an old, possibly sore wound. Someone being disappointed in you, someone that you love, is hurtful as hell._ _And yeah, she could have like, fought him, but Katara knows the power of words._ _Also, I knoooowww I don't need to remind you that the Katara that always knows the right thing to say to comfort her friends is the same Katara that threatened Zuko's life without a moment's hesitation, do I?_ _She's the epitome of the "looks like a cinnamon roll, but could actually kill you" meme._

 _I don't think it would be out of character for her to know just what to say to hurt someone's feelings. She knew just what to say to genuinely frighten tough-as-nails Zuko -_ **don't you dare tell me he wasn't scared either because he was going to pee his pants in fear and you'll never convince me otherwise** **.**

 _Also, leaving the country literally as this chapter is posted. I wanna see what you think while I'm on the plane. It's fourteen hours to Germany, so I'm gonna be cranky when I get off, but if you leave a review I'll be like eighty percent less cranky. So you know what to do homie._


	4. me watching you watching me

They trudged back up the stairs from the courthouse with a distinctly depressing air about them. It contrasted against the warm, full, _bursting_ atmosphere of fun that still engulfed the party. Zuko's voice echoed around them, full of ardor and strength. But the two were done for the night. Katara's face itched from wearing a full face of makeup for so long, Toph's feet were cold, and they'd gotten into an argument on the stairwell when Katara realized she'd left her bedroom light on.

"You're always complaining to _me_ about the electricity bill, so you know damn well I'm not gonna let up about the stupid light," Toph snapped, letting go of Katara as she made it to the final step and brushed out her robes.

"And you always complain about me nagging," Katara snapped back. "So show some compassion."

"Not a chance in hell."

Katara whacked her with the fan.

They continued arguing and yawning intermittently as they melted seamlessly into the crowd. Katara watched the Mayor and Police Chief wrangle together several drunken council members into sitting positions as Zuko stepped down from the podium. Everyone around them applauded, but Katara merely searched for Aang.

"Just a little bit longer. I told Aang I would stay for his speech," she whispered to Toph. The earthbender shrugged, but shifted her weight and leaned against her. It was a welcome burden.

"I can last a bit longer. Twinkletoes doesn't seem that boring," Toph said.

"Was that a compliment?"

"I'm not sure. Ask me in the morning."

Katara finally spotted him, walking up to the stage, and openly embracing Zuko in the hug. She almost sighed at the cuteness aloud, the two grown men (well, somewhat grown on Aang's part) not holding back in their obvious affection for the crowd. It made her heart flutter in happiness. She'd never envisioned Aang having friends that he cared deeply for in her mind. That morning she'd spent with him all alone always made it seem like he was just her special person alone.

It was a strange idea, but not one totally foreign, since he lived a nomadic life. Who would travel with him? Where would they go?

Watching them part and exchange broad smiles made her realize that maybe his friends weren't on the journeys, but at the destinations. It made her almost irrationally happy that he was loved. He deserved it. Someone with that good of a heart deserved all the love in the world.

"Every time you look at him, I can feel your heart literally skip a beat and it's gross," Toph said sleepily.

"I wish I could listen to _your_ heart every time Bumi said that you looked good tonight," Katara replied, unabashedly. It earned her a not so sleepy punch in the ribs, but it was worth it. And quite honestly, she didn't even need to be able to listen to her heartbeat. Sometimes Toph's expressions were written so plainly across her face that you would have to be a fool to not understand them. It was a byproduct of not being totally aware of how things looked, or how they were supposed to. If she wasn't pulling a default angry or apathetic face, and if she wasn't paying attention, she could be read like an open book.

It was also a byproduct of Toph being an open, honest girl. She was straightforward to a fault and unashamed of it. But she didn't feel quite safe doing that with every single feeling inside her heart. So sometimes Katara felt a bit guilty about it, even if her own heart was literally telling all her secrets if the rest of her body was doing otherwise.

She was still mulling over this as she stared at Aang. His outfit was plainer and softer without the large _bei_ around his neck. Watching his bared collarbones made her reach up and squeeze the wooden circle again where it fell between her breasts.

.

.

.

He watched her stare off into space with a worn down expression on her face, clutching his _bei_ , before speaking.

"I was ten when I'd overheard the monks at the Northern Air Temple speaking about me - discussing if they should finish off my training within the month. I was a capable bender. Talented. And I... _loved_ my element. But I wasn't ready. Far from it. Finishing my training didn't change that. Learning waterbending didn't change that. Learning firebending hadn't either. Learning earthbending probably shook the fragile confidence I had more than anything. Not firm enough, not aggressive enough, not tough enough, not enough of anything. Looking back, I'm pretty sure the problem was my teaching asking a _monk_ to be _aggressive_."

The crowd murmured in low, polite laughter. Aang followed them in with a smile, meeting Bumi's eyes briefly in the crowd.

His friend raised a flute of champagne to him with a wink.

"It was some of the best advice I've ever gotten in my life, even if it went completely against everything I ever believed in. It gave me hope. Because if I could be more than just a hyperactive, noisy kid who cried whenever he accidentally stepped on a bug, I could be more for the world," he'd said, pausing for more laughter, more genuine this time. He couldn't keep the smile off his face. "My earthbending teacher taught me the most. I'm forever in his debt."

Aang breathed, eyes turning back to Katara. Those depths of crystaline blue still didn't meet his own. "I'm vastly different from the twelve year old boy that was announced to the world four years before. But fundamentally, I'm still the same. I still have the same _unwavering_ faith that this world can live in harmony. This city is proof. The friends I've made around the world are proof. The same blood that runs through all our veins is proof," he'd said, the steel in his voice shifting into place. His skin tingled at the rightness of his words. "But I didn't always think this way, and I didn't always accept the responsibility of Avatar. Someone changed my mind."

Aang remembered the cocoa powder skin, the starry eyes as blue as arctic water. He remembered her laughter.

Few things about her remained the same; so much older and softer and sharper and more _beautiful_ , it made his head hurt. Her dress cinched cleanly at her waist, following the lines of her figure unabashedly before pooling at her feet. Every movement she made was a push and pull, as unconscious as the moon dancing with the tide. Her scent was thick, cloying with perfume, a cloud of allurement following her wherever she went.

Beyond it, though, she was still as beautiful on the inside.

That was the part that had scared him the most. Because as he grew older, he wasn't sure if the impression she'd left on his heart would still be the same girl, he wasn't sure if his twelve year old self had come up with something completely different, he wasn't sure he'd ever get to see her face again as a fully realized Avatar.

As a man.

A young one. But still.

Katara told him that he'd given her hope again, told him that she knew, just knew him, trusted him with the last remnant of her most precious person, but Aang didn't know how to tell her how backwards she had it. It tripped him up. The words slipping out of his mouth were unrehearsed.

"I met a girl from the Southern Water Tribe one day. She'd shipwrecked, but made it through the storm. It was a blessing from the spirits." Aang breathed deeply, taking a private second to close his eyes and thank those very spirits. "Somehow, some way, I talked her into swimming to Kyoshi Island and onto a cargo ship towards the North Pole. She told me we'd met again when we were both bending Masters, so I hope she followed through on her word. It was...an incredible moment with an incredible girl. And it didn't help that she was really cute."

Toph smirked broadly and nodded, standing on her own to raise an arm against Katara's shoulder. Katara let go of the necklace and flicked open her fan to cover her face. Her smoke-lined eyes met his dead on. Even from his distance, he could make out a dubiously raised brow. It made his smile grow mischievously for just a moment.

"She'd said I'd given her hope again. It startled me," Aang said, not helping the resentful smile he held. "Because the monks were rushing me into this position. Because the world _needed_ hope. It was the first time I understood. The Water Tribe girl jumped right back into the water that should have drowned her without a hint of reservation. It's another blessing, an even greater one, to see her today amongst loved ones."

Aang's eyes left Katara at this moment and his insides felt sore at the action. These next words were for all, though he'd dedicate so much more than a speech to here. These words were for every single frightened, stress, hopeless soul staring back up at him behind the carefully applied makeup and heavy swagger. Even if they were the most privileged of this city, he knew they needed it, because he was an Avatar for _all_ of humanity.

"All of you give me hope. In what I can do, in how I can connect with you, in a brighter tomorrow. I stand before you today as _your_ Avatar, _your_ Hope, _your_ bridge between this world and the next, ready to serve you." He breathed. He breathed in the rightness of the words surrounding him. He breathed in with all his past lives at once, accepting ache of his burdens before lifting them with his next words.

This time, his eyes found Republic City's mayor, without a hint of doubt.

.

.

.

 _"And I am willing to do whatever is necessary to fufill my role."_

The hospital break room went as silent as death. All eyes were trained on the large, ornately styled radio situated at the very back of the room with the volume turned all the way up. All ears were trained on the Avatar's words from the night before, that had turned from hopeful and almost adorable, to downright ominous. The faint echo of his words were not missed by a single person. Particularly, a chocolate haired Water Tribe girl who sat nibbling on a cheese bun in the corner of the room as she stared intently at her hands.

"Goddamn," Suki said from beside her, sounding more than a little breathless.

 _"Thank you, Republic City,"_ Aang's voice resounded across the room, exactly as it had the night before. _"Enjoy the rest of your night."_

Katara sat at a small table with two other girls in Republic City Hospital's lounge room filled with various healers, right in the midst of her break hour. Said break hour had been consumed with talk of nothing but the Avatar's presence in the city, as well as the implications of what it meant to the rest of the world. It made it quite difficult to keep her mind of her not-so-small, still-quite-bald friend from the night before. She was dead tired, having went through a healing session with a young construction worker who had broken dozens of bones that morning from falling three stories - not a single clean break in sight.

Lun, a tall girl with dark eyes and dark roots, tossed a wave of her bleached blonde hair over her shoulder with a coy smile. "He'd sound so much hotter if he didn't scare the shit out of me," she said smoothly.

Suki sighed. Katara tried not to glare.

" _That was the exclusive broadcast, brought to by our good sponsors, Fireflakes,_ " the radio announcer said in his painfully chipper voice, reeling their attention away again. " _Reports of civil unrest and political upheaval in the Fire Nation have made their way to our ears and it seems like the little monk's heard it loud and clear. He's made it a point of saying that he is in no way a politician before on numerous occaisions, regardless of the political implications of his actions. What's your take on it, Butter?_ "

" _Well, Beans,_ " the radio host with a much deeper voice started - making Lun and several other young nurses in the break room swoon on command - with an introspective tone, " _the kid ain't stupid._ "

"Obviously," Katara mumbled.

"Hush," Lun snapped.

"- _think he understand what he said, and how people're gonna take it. Kid's not a politician, but he's got undeniable political power, and that right there was him swinging his weight around_."

" _With all the fuss he's made, sounds like he was swinging around something_ real _different_ ," Beans said cheekily.

Several of the nurses cackled aloud at that, including Suki and Lun, but Katara shot her head up with a steely expression. Butter and Beans were having a riot on air. Honestly, she wasn't trying to be a stick in the mud, but those kind of jokes were just...classless. Painfully classless. If she wanted to get the same kind of bawdy talk, she'd be hanging out with Toph's fellow officers in the seedy bars they frequented.

"Tasteless," Katara spat.

"Can't fault you there," Suki replied, grinning happily.

Butter composed himself first. " _Really, we shouldn't be underestimating the kid. All the major world leaders from all the Nations were there tonight. It was ballsy. I respect that. But why play the intimidation card? What's he got up his sleeve? He's going to be apart of the peace talks for the next few weeks, so he might have some kind of ulterior motive_ ," the man said.

"Ulterior motive? Seriously? _A monk_?"

"Shut up Katara!"

"Excuse _you_ , Yung!"

"- _wouldn't say that, Butter. Hidden agenda? Sure. Ulterior motive sounds sinister. And who's to say it was an intimidation card? He might have been making it clear that he wasn't going to be dealing with any hotheads or shenanigans that'll involve anyone's army. Since, y'know, he could wipe them out_ ," Beans added, more serious than before. " _That's his trump card, and it's an obvious one, but it's just that those fathead politicians needed reminding_."

" _The Fire Nation, buddy. Don't lump anyone else into it._ "

" _Yeah, yeah._ "

" _Hotheads, the lot of 'em, I tell ya_."

" _Hey there, you big rockhead oaf_!"

Lun rolled her eyes, leaning back into her plastic chair as Butter and Beans began squabbling on air. "Even if you've got a spec of Fire Nation blood in you, you're going to be disgustingly prideful," the pale haired girl said. "So not attractive."

"That's a first, coming from you. Everything seems to get you going," Suki muttered.

Lun cut her a glare.

Katara held up her hands, comically leaning in and giving them scandalized eyes. "Ladies, _ladies_ , if you're gonna duke it out, save it for the streets," she said mockingly. The two burst into a fit of giggles, and Katara joined in, stuffing a bit of her cheese bun into her mouth.

Conversation was easy after that, switching between who was the most attractive member of the Fire Nation royal family - "I've got nothing against the scar, you know. It's just that Firelord Lu Ten has those _shoulders_..." - "I can't wait until he gets married so you can stop perving on him." - to how fussy Supervisor Qa'lin had been. They were in the midst of discussing the strange tantrums she'd been having over healer schedules as of late when their break hour ended. All across the lounge, people dove into action: white uniform tunics were smoothed out, name badges were righted, hands were dusted clean of crumbs, nurse hats were slipped back onto heads, and feet crowded towards the exit.

Suki got up first from their table with a loud sigh, slipping on her white guard coat. "I've got the psychiatric ward duty again," the redhead muttered, crossing her arms.

Katara shrugging, giving a little yawn. At this point, restraining highly volatile, mentally ill patients seemed less draining then getting back to work. "I'd switch, but there's probably someone else who's destroyed more than half of their body waiting for me out there," she muttered. "I really could use a nap."

"Yeah, yeah. The nurses here to the _real_ work. Put your magic water powers to rest and do some actual stitches," Lun replied. The pale haired woman clapped her on the back none too gently, very reminiscent of Toph, and gave Suki a wink before leaving. "See you guys! And we better still be on for tonight."

"'Course!" Suki called out.

"Tonight...for what?" Katara asked, dread in her voice. Suki pointedly rolled her eyes.

Suki whirled around to give her a dangerous, brow-raised look. "We're supposed to be going to the new speakeasy on Tigerlamb Avenue. Tonight's the opening. Did you forget?" she asked rhetorically, which Katara clearly did not appreciate. The chocolate haired girl sighed, walking past her, mumbling about suddenly having a social life.

"Well, you better act like you have one tonight!" Suki called after her.

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 **A/N:** _I'm back home, with my American food and American toilet and American chicken biscuits, and let me tell you that I will never romanticize a European country like that again. I was so confused. And my skin is still recovering. I can barely ramble. Sorry!_

 _Remember to review!_ _  
_


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